There's No Day Off For Heroes
by FirearmPrime
Summary: After the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D and Steve's proposal, Katherine was looking forward to some time to just be "normal". Of course, when you're a member of the Avengers, nothing can stay normal long. This is a sequel to 'I Am A Freedom Fighter' Rated just to be safe! Please follow, fave, and review! Steve RogersXOC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm back! I finally had some inspiration and I decided to start this one while I had it! I ended up marking** _ **I Am A Freedom Fighter**_ **as complete and decided just to start writing this one! Please let me know what you think, if I should continue, and if you come up with any better titles, I'm not sure about this one. But please don't forget to fave, follow, and review! It would mean a lot to me!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Katherine Howlett!**

 **XXX**

Planning a wedding was a little more work that Katherine had thought it would be (not that she thought it was easy). It's been a year since the proposal and Steve and Katherine had been splitting their time between their new apartment in upstate New York with the Institute for their summer classes. The school year was going to start soon, which made Katherine happy for the new apartment. It was close enough to the institute that they could either stay in the apartment or she could stay at the institute or Steve could stay in the apartment while she is at the institute. Either way works for the woman. Saturdays were one of Katherine's favorite days though. The couple lay in bed, slow to get up. Katherine slowly came into consciousness as Steve, as gently as he could, removed Katherine from his chest to slip out of bed.

"It's Saturday." She mumbled, opening her right eye ever so slightly to look at the man. He smiled softly and leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head.

"I know. It'll be a quick run. I promise." He said before heading to their dresser to get his running clothes. Katherine glanced at the clock and she saw it was 8. Steve had actually managed to sleep in past his usual 5 a.m. run by quite a bit. He was slowly getting more comfortable in this time, finally able to change his habits, something that the woman was extremely pleased about. She listened to Steve get dressed before he whispered a goodbye and made his way out of the bedroom. Quickly weighing her options, the woman decided to go back to sleep until he got home.

It was only an hour later before Katherine was awakened by Steve coming back into the apartment. She blinked her eyes open and lifted her head to look at the man as he came into the bedroom. "How was your run?" She asked as she sat up and leaned back against the headboard. The man smiled at her as he took off his shirt. Katherine's eyes flittered over his torso before coming back up to his face.

"It was good." He said, flexing a little bit when he saw his fiancé watching him. Katherine tilted her head and leaned over slightly as Steve made his way into the attached bathroom. He turned the water on and let the temperature adjust. He slipped off his socks before slipping his sweats off. Before he could slip his boxers, he shut to door with his foot, blocking her view. She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout.

"That wasn't very nice." She said, loud enough she was sure that he would hear her. She could hear him chuckle with her enhanced hearing. She smiled as she slipped out of the bed and headed into the kitchen. Their new apartment was an open loft style that Katherine kind of loved. Steve said it was growing on him too, which Katherine was grateful about. She wanted Steve to consider the place his home as well, not just Katherine's (even if he did say that it didn't matter where they lived as long as Katherine was there).

As the woman started the coffee, she could hear Steve step under the water. Things had been good for them since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. The couple has been able to live their lives, get even closer, and not have to worry about going on crazy missions. The only thing that had been crazy was the wedding planning. They did get to see the rest of the Avengers occasionally; more often than not it was Natasha and Clint they saw. Even so, she was still close to the others. John and Logan were frequent visitors at their new place as well. Once the coffee was done, she poured Steve and herself a cup before she began rummaging through the fridge to find something for breakfast. She had decided on breakfast wraps since they had all the stuff for them.

 **XXX**

The eggs, bacon, and sausage were cooking by the time Steve came down the stairs in just a pair of sweats. Katherine wolf-whistled as he walked by her and she watched the man roll his eyes and hip-checked her. She chuckled as she turned back to the food. Steve took a sip of his coffee (made just the way he likes) before he turned to lean against the counter and look at the woman.

"So what is the plan today?" Steve asked her. Katherine thought as she reached under the stove and pulled out a small pan to use to warm up the soft tortilla shells.

"Well, today is John's graduation." She said with a smile. Steve raised an eyebrow before looking at the small calendar on the fridge. The day was circled in red with _John's Graduation_ written in red as well.

"Oh… I guess that's the plan." Steve said with a smile. She nodded as she began to put the wraps together.

"Yeah. I didn't think he would ever get that far. There was a while I was worried that he'd never graduate." The woman said as she finished three of Steve's wraps before working on her own. She passed the plate to the other side of the stove so that Steve could get to them. He stepped up beside her, pressing a kiss to her cheek before he began eating.

"He's a smart kid." Steve said before he took his first bite.

"I know that but he didn't always act like it." She said, carefully warming up her tortillas. "I like to think that you were a part of what changed." The man looked at her and smiled.

 **XXX**

When breakfast was done, the couple grabbed their clothes for John's graduation and loaded them in the back of the car that Katherine had bought (because you really can't ride your motorcycle everywhere) and off they went. The drive to the Institute wasn't bad, maybe an hour. When they got there, everything was decked out for the graduation ceremony. It was tradition that the Professor does it in the large backyard on the property. There were quite a few kids graduating and what made it special for Katherine was that many of the kids were either recruited by her or she'd been around since they'd come to the institute.

"I got the clothes; you go ahead and head inside." She nodded, pressing a chaste kiss to the man's lips before making her way inside. As soon as she stepped inside, she could smell all the amazing smells coming from the kitchen. She followed her nose and smiled as Scott, Ororo, and Jean worked on making some special foods for the graduating students.

"Hey." She said, coming over to the three other teachers.

"Hey." They all said back, not stopping their tasks. They didn't have much longer until it was time for the graduation ceremony so they had to make sure everything was done.

"Is there anything you need me to do?" She asked, while watching them work.

"You can just make sure that everyone is getting ready." Scott said, looking over at the woman. She nodded her head.

"Okay. Steve's here too. He'll be inside in a minute." They nodded before the woman turned and made her way towards the stairs to head upstairs. One by one, she checked the rooms of the graduating students, making sure they were all getting ready. One of the last rooms she stopped by was John's. She knocked on the door and a soft 'come in' was heard. She opened the door and smiled when she saw the boy almost completely dressed. He was wearing a deep red button up shirt with black slacks. "You look good." She said, leaning against the doorway.

"Thanks." John said, holding a black tie in his hand. He looked a little nervous.

"You need some help with that?" She asked, pointing to the tie. The boy nodded his head, holding it out for the woman to take. She smiled slightly as she walked over to him, taking the tie from his hand and tying it around his neck, quickly and efficiently. "You still have a little while so just hang out with the others and relax." She placed a kiss on his forehead before he nodded his head slightly.

"Is Steve here?" John asked and the woman smiled.

"Yeah, he's here. He's putting our clothes in our room." She said, nudging her thumb over her shoulder towards her room. The boy nodded and sat down on his bed, sighing. "Everything alright?" She asked as she sat down next to him.

"I don't know." He said quietly. "I've been here as long as I can remember and now I'm… finished." The woman watched him for a moment before wrapping her right arm around his neck and pulling him towards her gently, allowing the boy to lay his head on her shoulder.

"You know what's great about Charles?" She asked, speaking just as quietly as John had spoken. "He's not going to help you graduate and then turn you away. I've been here since he started the school all those years back and he's never asked me to leave once." She leaned away from the blonde, using the fingertips of her left hand to lift his head to look at her. "You can do whatever you want after this. You can leave the institute and make a life for yourself somewhere else or you can stay here and help the new, younger students that will be coming in soon. There's always something for someone to do." She said with a small smile. John looked at her and smiled slightly.

"Thanks mom." He said and the woman smiled before wrapping her arms around the boy, pulling him into a tight hug. There was a soft knock on the door, causing the pair to pull away. Steve was standing in the doorway smiling at them.

"Hey Johnny." Steve said to the boy.

"Hey Steve." John said back with a smile. The younger boy had never gotten used to calling Steve dad, which wasn't something that any of them were worried about. It definitely wasn't a big deal to Steve.

"Kathy, we need to start getting ready." The man said, nudging his head towards their room. The woman's brow furrowed slightly before looking at her watch, seeing that there was only an hour and a half before the ceremony.

"Oh, okay." She turned to the younger boy. "Are you going to be okay?" She asked him and he nodded, giving her a smile.

"Yeah, go get ready." She leaned forward and pressed another kiss to his forehead before she stood up and made her way towards their bedroom. Steve gave the younger boy another smile and a playful salute, which caused John to chuckle, before he closed the door and followed his fiancé down the hall.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's the second chapter! I hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't forget to fave, review, and follow! It would mean a lot to me if you guys let me know that you want me to continue!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Katherine!**

 **XXX**

Dinner after the graduation ceremony was great. To have everyone together and celebrating the accomplishments of the young future heroes was awesome in Katherine's eyes. She smiled at Steve as he gently held her hand under the table. The man smiled back before taking a bite of his food.

"So…" Logan said, slightly louder than the smaller conversations going on at the table to get everyone's attention. "You've graduated. What are the plans now?" He asked and the teens looked a little unsure.

"You know…" Katherine began, gaining their attention. "It's okay to not know what you're going to do. I got here and I had no idea what I wanted. Charles let me stay and figure out my life… of course, the Avengers helped a little." She said, nudging Steve's shoulder with her own. He gave her a shy smile before nudging her back. "You don't have to decide at this very moment. Take some time and enjoy your accomplishments. Work from there." She winked at John. The boy smiled at her. The rest of the adults at the table smiled. The conversations started up again and the woman took a bite of her food before turning back to John. He was happily conversing with Rogue, Bobby, and Kitty. She was extremely proud of him for getting this far. There was a while that Katherine wasn't sure that he was going to finish but when Steve came, something had changed in the boy and the woman couldn't be more proud of him.

"Katherine…" Charles said, gaining the attention of almost everyone at the table. "Isn't there something that you wanted to tell everyone?" He asked. The woman's brow furrowed as she tilted her head. She was about to ask him what he meant when she caught the light bouncing off the diamond of the ring that Steve had given her. Her eyes widen slightly as she whispered, 'oh'.

"Actually, I do. Everyone…" She said, gathering everyone's attention. "Since we're all having a good time and with Charles' gentle reminder, I felt like I need to tell you all something really important." She glanced around briefly at everyone before she released Steve's hand and rested her arms on the table, her right hand playing with the ring on her left hand. "I meant to tell you all a while ago but things got a little crazy and… well… Now seems as good a time as any." She looked at Steve, smiling back at him when she saw the man smiling. "We're getting married." She said, holding up her hand for everyone to see the ring. There was a moment of silence before Remy broke it.

"Well, congratulations Chere." He smiled widely at her. The dams burst open after that with people congratulating both heroes. The women held her hand, looking at the ring while the men gave her hugs. She watched as Logan and Steve shared a hug. It lasted a little longer than normal, she was sure that Logan was whispering creative threats into her finance's ear. She hugged Charles; the older man whispered how proud he was of her in her ear, causing the older woman to almost tear up.

"So, what are the plans now?" Scott asked when all of the congratulating stopped.

"We've slowly been planning the wedding. We're not sure on a couple of things but it's all coming together." Katherine said to the man, smiling at him. Everyone nodded.

"We're going to bed." Rogue said, drawing all the attention of the adults to the newly graduated teens.

"Yeah…" Bobby said, standing up. "We were planning on just hanging out all day tomorrow like going to the mall and the movies and stuff." Everyone nodded. Katherine glanced down at her watch, it was later than she had realized.

"Alright." Charles said, offering them smiles. They smiled back before they began filing out of the room and to the stairs. John came over and wrapped Katherine in a hug. The woman pressed a kiss to his forehead as she hugged him back.

"Congratulations mom." He said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. He pulled away from her and stepped over to Steve, hugging the older man. Steve pressed a kiss to the top of the shorter boys head before he pulled away. "Congrats Steve." The boy said when he pulled away, fist bumping the older man. Katherine chuckled as Steve returned it. Once all of the teenagers were out of the room, the adults began cleaning the dining room.

"How long were you planning on staying?" Ororo asked as she and Katherine began rinsing the dishes to put into the dishwasher.

"We were planning on staying for at least a week unless something comes up." The brunette said as she handed the woman some plates to put in the dishwasher. The women fell into silence as they listened to everyone else move around them, cleaning up the dining room, kitchen, and began putting the food away. This was something that Katherine missed. Sure, she loved living with Steve and she loved having her own place, but the hustle and bustle of the institute life was something she never forgot. There was always someone moving or doing something. There was always some kind of noise going on and sometimes, Katherine realized just how quiet their new apartment was. When the last of the dishes was put into the dishwasher and it was started, Katherine glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost midnight and Katherine was a little tired. She walked into the living room, smiling when she saw Steve talking with Logan and Remy. She was happy that Steve was able to get along with everyone that was important in her life. "I'm gonna head up to my room." Katherine said to Jean as the redhead walked by her. "Incase Steve asks." The other woman smiled and nodded. She didn't want to interrupt whatever they were talking about.

 **XXX**

After jumping into the shower quickly, she got dressed in a pair of her sweats and one of Steve's tank tops. She wrapped her hair in a towel as she made her way back into the bedroom. She trained her hearing and heard Steve still downstairs, talking with Logan. The woman smiled before she pulled the towel off of her head and threw it into the clothes hamper just inside the bathroom door. She jumped onto the bed and turned the TV onto some random channel. She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep but she was awakened by the TV being turned off and the bed moving under her. She peeked an eye open, looking up at Steve as he crawled into the bed. He gently scooted the woman over as he settled into his spot.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." He said quietly before settling on his back. She scooted closer, laying her head above his heart with her left hand resting on the middle of his chest.

"It's okay." She said quietly. "Did you finally manage to escape the questions and interrogations?"

"Yeah. I don't think I've heard as creative threats as I got from Logan and Remy." He said with a small chuckle before he dropped a kiss to the top of her head.

"Yeah… they're good at that." She said, yawning quietly. Steve began rubbing her back in small, soothing circles.

"Go back to sleep. We'll talk more in the morning." He said quietly. The woman nodded, half asleep.

"I love you." She muttered. She felt Steve's smile on the top of her head before he placed another kiss there.

"I love you too." She heard before she fell back asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the long break and the short chapter! Things have been a little crazy! Please let me know what you guys think about this story! I would love for you all to fave, follow, and review! I would mean a lot of me!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Katherine Howlett!**

 **XXX**

Steve and Katherine had remained at the institute all week and were coming to the end of their visit. Katherine was tanning on a chair by the pool while several students and Steve were swimming and playing in the pool. Katherine's eyes blinked open as her phone went off on the ground beside her. She reached down and hit the _accept_ button before putting it up to her ear. "Hello?" She said, watching the kids swimming.

"Lieutenant." The voice on the other end said, she glanced at the phone, she was a little surprised that it was Maria Hill.

"Hill… what's up?" She asked. She glanced over at Steve; he was splashing around with some of the younger kids so he hadn't heard her at all.

"We've gotten a lead on Loki's scepter. It is in Sokovia in what we can only assume is a Hydra base." The woman said. The brunette raised an eyebrow before she stood up, grabbing her towel to wrap around her shoulders before she made her way inside. She closed the door behind her and leaned her back on the wall beside the door, pulling her sunglasses off to place them on the top of her head.

"Are you sure?" She asked. The other woman hummed.

"Almost 100%. I've already contacted the others. I haven't been able to get a hold of Captain Rogers though." Maria said, the sound of papers being moved around filtering through the phone as if she was looking for something.

"That's fine. He's with me. Earlier this week was John's graduation so we made a trip to the institute." The older woman said as she glanced out the window at John and Bobby going against Steve and another student playing chicken.

"Alright. When is the soonest you can get here?"

"By the end of the day, maybe early tomorrow morning."

"Alright. That'll work. Once you're all together, we'll go over this in more detail." Katherine hummed.

"Alright. We'll be there soon." She said before hanging up before turning to look out the window. She heard someone walking up behind her, she had a pretty good idea of who it was.

"You're leaving?" Logan asked as he came up beside his sister to look out at the pool.

"Yeah. Apparently, they found the location of Loki's scepter. We've been searching for it since the Battle of New York three years ago." Katherine said. "It's pretty important that Steve and I go and help the others."

"Have you told Steve and John yet?" He asked, glancing at her.

"Not yet. I wasn't sure what Hill was going to say. I'm getting ready to go out and get Steve. We've got to get there as soon as possible." Logan nodded, laying his hand on his sister's shoulder. She looked over at him, offering him a small smile. She patted him on the back before making her way back outside. Steve was sitting on the edge of the pool, watching the kids playing and splashing each other. She knelt down behind him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. The man turned and smiled at her. "I just got a call from Hill." She said, the man's smile dropping from his face slightly.

"What's up?" He asked.

"She thinks that they found the location of Loki's scepter. It's at a probable Hydra base in Sokovia." He nodded his head before standing up. She knew that Steve would pack up all of their things so she turned her attention to John. She waved him over, watching the boy wade through the water. "Hey, I hate to say this but…"

"You need to leave?" John asked, setting his chin on his arms as he crossed them over the edge of the pool.

"Yeah… it's really important otherwise we wouldn't be leaving." John nodded his head with a small smile.

"You came to graduation. It's okay. You were getting ready to head home anyway weren't you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah but there is a difference in leaving to go home and leaving to go on a mission." She said, raising her own eyebrow at him. He shrugged his shoulders playfully.

"Differences." She rolled her eyes before leaning forward to place a kiss on his forehead.

"We'll see you soon, okay?" She said as she stood up. John nodded his head, offering her a reassuring smile. "Bye everyone!" She called to the kids in the pool.

"You're leaving?" Ellie asked from where she was sitting on the other side of the pool, her phone in hand.

"Yeah, official Avengers business." She said with a wink before she turned and walked back inside. She could hear the kids yelling goodbye to her as she shut the patio door.

 **XXX**

"Thank for the ride." Katherine said as she pressed a kiss to Logan and Scott's cheeks. The pair had brought Steve and Katherine to the Avengers Tower with the Blackbird.

"No problem." Logan said, kissing her cheek as well. Once Steve and Katherine were off the jet, it took off, heading back in the direction of the Institute.

"Come on." Steve said, placing a hand on her lower back as he led her through the tower into the conference room. As they walked, Jarvis surprised the couple causing the both of them jumping slightly.

"Hello Captain Rogers, Lieutenant Howlett." The British voice spoke.

"Hey Jarvis. Is everyone already in the conference room?" Katherine asked with a glance to the ceiling. She had never really broken the habit of looking up when she talked to the AI.

"Yes ma'am. They were made aware of your arrival and are waiting." The AI spoke again.

"Alright, thanks Jarvis." Steve said as they turned down another hallway. When they made it into the conference room, the other heroes were there waiting. Steve opened the door, holding it open for Katherine to walk through first.

"There they are!" Tony exclaimed from his seat when he saw them enter. Of course he was in the seat facing the door.

"Hey guys, sorry we're late." Steve said as he walked over to the only two open chairs and pulled one out for Katherine. She sat down, allowing Steve to push her chair in before he sat down in the one beside her.

"It's alright." Maria said, gaining their attention. "But now that you're all here, let's get started." A map showed up behind the woman. The map was white, indicating snow and a spot in the middle was blinking red.

"Snow… It just had to be snow…" Katherine muttered to herself as she leaned back in her chair.

"This is the location of Loki's scepter in a country known as Sokovia…"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here is another chapter! Things have been a little crazy around here and I kind of lost motivation for the story! I'm going to really try and update at least once a week. Please don't forget to fave, follow, and review! It would mean so much to me to know you guys like it!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Katherine Howlett!**

 **XXX**

Katherine held on tightly to Steve's waist as maneuvered the motorcycle through the snow. She was sending out bolts of electricity and gusts of wind left and right, usually leaving the men unconscious. She saw Steve reach back out of her peripheral. She reached an arm behind her, pulling the shield off her back and putting it in his hand. He reared back and threw it. He easily moved through the trees and jumped a small ravine, landing the bike perfectly and grabbing the shield when it bounced up from hitting the ground. He handed it back to Katherine, who once again, attached it to her back.

"So, I was thinking red and white for the colors." Katherine said loudly in Steve's ear so that he could hear her over the wind. Steve turned the bike sharply to the left while Katherine used her right hand to shoot a bolt of lightning at the truck they had turned away from. The truck blew up; the force of the explosion had flipped it over their heads. They maneuvered under it easily before the Hulk grabbed it and threw it aside before jumping back into the fray.

"It would be nice but aren't those the average colors in a wedding?" Steve asked before using his shield to knock some soldiers down. Katherine let go of his waist, throwing her arms out and sending out a powerful gust of wind to knock them all back. He handed her the shield back and she once again attached it to her back, appreciating how it was now magnetized.

"Well, I was also thinking red, white, and blue." She said in his ear, smiling because she knew, even without seeing it, the man was rolling his eyes.

"That's a big N-O." He said to her, dodging a few trees. "Now turn the earpieces back on so that we can hear the others." The man said in his captain voice. The woman laughed lightly before flipping the small switch on both earpieces. She looked up and watched Ironman fly above their heads. Just a few seconds later, his voice came through in the ear pieces.

' _Shit!'_ Tony's voice came through the earpiece.

"Language!" Steve said back. Katherine couldn't help but laugh before she blew more soldiers away with another gust of wind. "Jarvis, what's the view from upstairs?" Steve ignored Katherine, choosing to instead talk to the AI.

' _The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other Hydra base we've taken.'_ The voice said. Katherine took the shield off her back, throwing it at a soldier. She watched it bounce off a few trees before coming back to her.

"You're getting good at that." Steve said, looking over his shoulder at the woman. She smiled before, latching it back into place.

' _Loki's scepter must be here.'_ Thor's voice came through the earpiece. _"Strucker couldn't mount his defense without it. At long last."_

"' _At long last' is lasting a little long, boys… and Katherine."_ Natasha said. Katherine could hear the gunfire on her end.

' _Yeah. I think we lost the element of surprise.'_ Clint said. Katherine chuckled; throwing a couple fireballs at some trucks and watching them explode as Steve weaved in and out of the trees.

"Really Clint? What gave you that idea? Was it the fact that, maybe, they're shooting at us." She said, grabbing Steve's shield and putting her right arm through it, protecting the two of them from bullets.

' _Maybe just a little.'_ The archer said and the woman was sure that she could imagine the smirk he had on his face, even as he notched an arrow into his bow.

' _Wait a second.'_ Tony's voice came back. _'No one else is gonna deal with the fact that Cap just said "Language"?'_ Katherine began laughing again.

"I know." Steve said. Katherine stood up on the seat before putting a foot on Steve's shoulder. Using the man as leverage, she back flipped off the motorcycle. As soon as she landed, she turned and threw the shield to a small group of soldiers that were firing at her. One by one, the shield bounced around until they'd all fallen. A loud and heavy crash sounded from behind her. She jumped slightly to catch the shield before she turned around. Steve had thrown the motorcycle at an oncoming truck. He sighed. "Just slipped out."

"It's okay Cap." Katherine said as she came up beside the man, nudging his hip with hers. When he turned to her, she stood up on her toes and placed a chaste kiss on his lips before she handed him his shield back. She turned and ran towards the sound of gunfire. She could hear Steve chuckling in the earpiece.

' _Of course you would think it's okay. '_ Tony said and woman laughed.

 **XXX**

"How's it hanging?" Katherine asked as she crossed paths with Clint. She created a shield of wind so that they didn't have to duck bullets.

"Really?" He asked, laughing slightly. They hid behind trees before the woman turned and smirked at him.

"What? I just thought I would engage you in some nice conversation." She said innocently. The man snorted as he notched an arrow. "Be lucky I didn't say _wonderful weather we're having._ I hate snow anyway…" She muttered the last part almost to herself as she looked down at the snow under her feet. This time, Clint did laugh before he turned and fired an arrow at a Hydra bunker that was shooting at them. Clint ducked back behind the tree but nothing happened. There was no explosion. Clint glanced at Katherine; she peeked around before turning back to the archer and shrugging her shoulders. Clint never misses. He notched another arrow and Katherine stood up, fire dancing brightly around her hands but before she could move from behind the tree, she was knocked to the ground by something. She groaned softly at the wind being knocked out of her lungs. A second later, Clint landed beside her, groaning as well.

"You didn't see that coming?" A man asked as he walked by them. He had a Sokovian accent with platinum blonde hair, almost white. He glanced at them once more before he ran. At that point, it was evident to Katherine that he had been the thing that hit her. He had superhuman speed.

"Don't bother." Katherine said when Clint aimed his bow at him. The archer glanced at her as she got up before looking back to where the man had run off. She heard something off to the side and she saw the bunker had a plasma gun on top of it, aiming right for them. "Get down!" She yelled but it was too late, as Katherine tackled Clint down, they both were hit. They landed hard on the ground, both groaning with the burning pain through their sides. Katherine heard someone running towards them, she managed to open her eyes, only to close them again when she saw that it was Natasha. The other woman was running to Clint. Katherine rolled over and pushed her injured side into the snow, hoping the cold would numb the pain a bit.

' _We have an Enhanced in the field.'_ Steve said through his earpiece.

"An Enhanced?" Katherine said into the earpiece, she could hear the pain in her own voice. "Is that what you call me?" Her sentence ended more in a groan than anything else. The snow was doing absolutely nothing.

"Clint and Katherine are hit!" Natasha said as she looked over Clint. She looked over at Katherine but the older woman shook her head.

"Don't worry about me. Take care of Clint." She said, trying to calm her breathing.

' _You alright?'_ Steve's voice came through her earpiece.

"Oh yeah, peachy keen." She groaned as she rolled her injured side out of the snow so she was lying on her back. She wished her healing factor worked as fast as her brother's right about now.

"Somebody want to deal with that bunker?" Natasha asked and a moment later, the Hulk went running right through it. "Thank you." She said as she continued to work on Clint's side. Clint groaned when Natasha pressed against his side.

' _Drawbridge is down people.'_ Tony said. Katherine could hear Thor and Steve talking before Natasha put her hand up to her earpiece.

"Clint and Katherine are hit pretty bad guys." She said, glancing over at the woman. "We're gonna need evac."

' _I can get Barton and the Lieutenant to the jet.'_ Thor said. _'The sooner we're gone, the better. You and Stark secure the scepter.'_

' _Copy that.'_ Steve said to the demi-God.

"How's he doing?" Katherine asked as turned her head to look at Natasha and Clint.

"He's okay." Natasha said back, glancing at her. "What about you?"

"I'll live. I'm healing… slowly but surely."

' _And for gosh sake, watch your language!'_ Tony said, causing Katherine to laugh.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" She said while trying to stop laughing. Steve sighed.

' _That's not going away any time soon.'_ He said and the woman chuckled again.

"Stop making me laugh, it hurts." She said, panting through the new level of pain. She could hear Tony's chuckle and she saw Natasha's smile.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry it's taken so long! Life just didn't want me to write! I haven't forgot about the story, it just so happened that every time I sat down to write something would happen but I'm here now and I'm going to go ahead and post two chapters for everyone who has waited patiently! Thank you all so much! Please don't forget to fave, follow, and review! It helps to keep me motivated to know you guys are reading this story and you like it!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Katherine Howlett!**

 **XXX**

Katherine looked up at the hand offered to her. She groaned softly as she reached up to grasp it, allowing Thor to pull to her to her feet as gently as possible. The blast had easily ripped a hole right through the side of her suit, glancing down at the wound; she could see the skin slowly knitting itself back together.

"Are you sure you're alright Lieutenant?" Thor asked and Katherine resisted the urge to sigh. She liked it better when she was 'Lady Katherine'. Being called Lieutenant reminded her too much of the Team X days. Although, hearing Thor say it, as a term of endearment, helped to soften the blow of it which is why she'd never asked him to stop calling her that.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm healing." She said, turning slightly to look down at her side again. The skin around the edge of the wounds was pink, showing a physical sign of the slow healing. When she looked back up, she saw that Natasha was gone, probably to get Bruce. Clint was still lying on the ground, breathing roughly through his mouth as he laid a hand on the wound on his side.

' _We have a second Enhanced. Female. Do not engage.'_ Steve's voice came over the com-links.

"You sure you don't need some help?" Katherine asked, leaning against Thor slightly. The bigger man held steady, letting her do as she needed.

' _Positive. Stay where you are.'_ He said and she could hear the seriousness in his tone. She nodded her head, even though he couldn't see her, and pushed away from Thor to stand on her own.

"Take Clint to the Jet. I'll make it there." She said to the Demi-God. He looked down at her.

"Are you sure?" He asked and she nodded.

"Positive. He needs it more than I do. I'm healing." Thor looked conflicted for a moment before making his way over to where Clint was.

' _Guys, I got Strucker.'_ Steve's voice said again over the coms.

' _Yeah, I got something bigger.'_ Tony's voice came on a moment after. Katherine watched as Thor, as he lifted the archer as gently as he could and flew him back to the ship. She sighed again.

"Time to make my way to the Jet." She glanced down at her side once more before slowly making her way there. Only a few feet later, the com-linked crackled to life again.

' _Thor, I got eyes on the prize.'_ Tony said. They now had Strucker and the scepter, two-for-two. Not a bad day. Katherine thought as the jet came into sight.

 **XXX**

The jet was quiet as Katherine sat, letting her side heal. She watched as Steve worked on taking care of Clint's side while Natasha and Thor stood close by, watching. Bruce was sitting near her, his headphones playing Opera music through them. Tony was in the pilot's seat at the front of the jet, flying them all home. Natasha walked over to Bruce and the pair began talking. Katherine stood up, a bit slowly as the newly healed skin pulled, but made her way towards the back of the ship where Thor and Steve were standing.

"Hey." She said with a small smile. Thor and Steve smiled back.

"Hey." Steve said, gently wrapping his arm around her waist and pressing a chaste kiss to her lips. "How are you feeling?" He asked, looking down at her side. He hadn't seen the wound when it was fresh, it was about 65% healed at this point.

"Better. It's getting there. If I had Logan or Victor's healing ability I would have been healed by now." She said, looking down as well. Steve gently rubbed a finger over the pink skin, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

"I'm just glad you're okay." He said, looking into her hazel eyes. She smiled up at him, unzipping the top of her suit slightly; allowing him to see the engagement ring on a short chain without her having to pull it out and revealing it to the entire team. Steve smiled a little more when he saw it.

"Me too." She said quietly before he leaned down to kiss her once more.

"Thor, report on the Hulk." Natasha's voice filled the jet. Steve and Katherine pulled away from each other and turned to watch Thor.

"The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims." Thor said, taking a few steps towards the two of them, clapping his hands together once. Natasha turned to him with a look that clearly said, 'what the hell are you doing' while Bruce groaned softly putting his head in his hands. "But not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no, wounded screams." Thor said, trying to backtrack. Bruce nodded his head without lifting it from his hands. Katherine turned fully towards Steve, burrowing into his neck to hide her smile and smother her chuckles. Steve's hand pressed into the middle of her back, pressing her closer to his body. He pressed his forehead against the side of her neck and Katherine was sure he was doing the same thing she was. "Mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining, and tales of sprained deltoids and gout." Thor finished, turning back to the two heroes at his side. When Steve and Katherine composed themselves, they separated and smiled at Thor. Katherine gave him a thumbs up and he shook his head softly.

"Hey Banner, Dr. Cho is on her way in from Seoul." Tony said to Bruce. "Is it okay if she sets up in your lab?"

"Uh, yeah, she knows her way around." Bruce said, turning to the other man.

"Thanks." Tony said to him before talking to Jarvis. Katherine turned her attention to Thor as he opened the container that the scepter was in. It was hard to believe they had been looking for this thing for about three years… since the Battle of New York. The woman reached up and touched the ring on the necklace. She'd been engaged to Steve for about a year now as well… time flies when you're having fun.

"Feels good, yeah?" Tony asked as he came over to the three heroes in the back of the jet. Katherine glanced at him before zipping her suit up, hiding the ring. Steve wasn't upset about her hiding it. She wanted to tell everyone at once in a kind of happy, group moment like their upcoming farewell party. They'd hid it this long, why not a little longer. "I mean, you've been after this thing since S.H.I.E.L.D collapsed. Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties, but…"

"No, but this… this brings it to a close." Thor said before turning to smile at Tony.

"As soon as we find out what else this has been used for." Steve said. "I don't just mean weapons. Since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?" Katherine glanced up at the man.

"It is possible." She said, waving an arm slightly. He glanced at her before leaning down to kiss her temple. She rolled her eyes.

"Banner and I will give it the once over before it goes back to Asgard." Tony said to the Demi-God. "Is that cool with you?" He asked. "Just a few days till the farewell party. You're staying, right?" Tony asked, also glancing at Steve and Katherine.

"Yes, yes, of course. A victory should be honored with revels." Thor said. Katherine nodded her head.

"Yeah, who doesn't love revels? Captain?" Tony said, leaning around the larger man to get a look at Steve.

"Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and Hydra. So, yes, revels." He smiled at them. Katherine reached up and pinched his cheek.

"There's my boy." He chuckled as he batted her hand away. Tony nodded his head, watching the couple with a small smile. The rest of the trip was either quiet or with light conversation.

 **XXX**

Clint was the first one off the jet, taken quickly by Dr. Cho and her team with Natasha alongside. Thor followed with the scepter. Katherine glanced up at Maria Hill came onto the Jet. "Lab's all set up, boss." She said to Tony, who was once again, sitting in the pilot's seat.

"Oh, actually, he's the boss." Tony said, turning his chair around and motioning to where Steve was sitting with Katherine. "I just pay for everything and design everything and make everybody look cooler." He said as he stood from his chair.

"And we appreciate it Tony." Katherine said with a smile. Steve got up, pressing a hand to her hip as he made his way towards Maria.

"What's the word on Strucker?" He asked her. Katherine turned to Tony, giving him a two fingered salute before following after him, her heels clicking on the floor of the Jet.

"NATO's got him." Maria said to the Captain.

"The two Enhanced?" Steve asked.

"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Twins." She handed Steve a tablet. Katherine looked over his shoulder as he pressed play on a video. It was of the man she'd seen on Sokovia, the one with the enhanced speed that she was now sure of Pietro. He was with a girl who, if she had to guess, was Wanda. "Orphaned at 10 when a shell collapsed their apartment building. Sokovia's had a rough history. It's nowhere special, but it's on the way to everywhere special."

"Their abilities?" Steve asked the woman as they walked into the building and down the halls.

"He's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neuroelectric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation." They stopped at the elevator and Steve turned to Maria, not understanding anything she'd said. She sighed and looked at Katherine. The older woman chuckled.

"What she's saying is that he's fast and she's weird." Steve looked at Katherine and nodded his head before looking back down at the tablet.

"Well, they're going to show up again." He handed it back to Maria when the elevator beeped.

"Agreed. File says they volunteered for Strucker's experiments. It's nuts." Katherine hit the button on the elevator when she and Steve stepped inside.

"Right." He said. "What kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country?" Katherine could hear the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"We're not at war, Captain." Maria said, knowing exactly what he'd implied by it.

"They are." He said before the doors closed. Katherine leaned against the wall to look at him. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes before turning towards her fully. "What?" He asked softly, looking down at her side. She was almost completely healed, just a small spot remained. Katherine glanced down briefly as well thinking that Tony needed to get working on a suit that would reconstruct itself like her healing factor does. She pursed her lips, shaking her head softly as she looked up at Steve.

"You just seem to know where these guys are coming from." She watched him.

"Don't you?" He asked. "Sure, you weren't experimented on but… you were at war." She shrugged.

"I was in many wars." She held out her hand. Steve placed his in it without hesitation. She didn't have to exert much energy to pull him to her; he stepped closer to her willingly. She pulled him closer until they were chest to chest before she leaned up on her toes slightly and tilted her head back a little, silently asking the man for a kiss. He chuckled before leaning down the rest of the way to press his lips to her. He brought his free hand up to cup her cheek as they pulled apart.

"I meant it earlier. I'm really glad you're okay." He placed his hand on her once wounded side.

"I'm all good." She said, leaning into his hand. He smiled before pressing a kiss to her forehead. The elevator dinged again, letting them know that they were at Steve's floor. "I'm going to head to Bruce's lab and check on Clint, I'll be back to change soon." She said to the man and he nodded.

"Alright, let me know how he is." Steve said as he released his finance, stepping out into the hall before turning around to look back at her.

"I will." She said before hitting the button on the elevator. She gave Steve a small wave and a smile before the doors closed completely.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here's the second chapter! Please don't forget to fave, follow, and review! I would mean a lot to me!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Katherine Howlett!**

 **XXX**

Katherine walked into Bruce's lab to see Clint lying in a machine with Natasha standing next to him, watching the machine work, and Dr. Cho watching some monitors. "Are you sure he's going to be okay?" Natasha asked. Dr. Cho turned to the redhead. "Pretending to need this guy really brings the team together."

"There's no possibility of deterioration." Dr. Cho said as she came closer to them. Natasha smiled at Clint and the archer smiled back. "The nano-molecular functionality is instantaneous." Dr. Cho began pressing a few buttons on the machine. Katherine smiled at Bruce when he walked into the lab. She followed him, coming up to stand beside Clint's head. He smiled up at her and she smiled back before leaning down to press a kiss to his cheek. "His cells don't know they're bonding with simulacra."

"She's creating tissue." Bruce explained in laymen's terms.

"Thank goodness someone explained that to me. Cause I didn't understand a word of it." Katherine said with a small smile and Clint chuckled.

"If you brought him to my lab, the Regeneration Cradle could do this in 20 minutes." Dr. Cho said, motioning to the machine that Clint was in.

"Oh no, he's flat-lining. Call it. Time?" Tony said as he came in with drinks.

"No, no, no, I'm gonna live forever." Clint said before chuckling at his own joke. "I'm gonna be made of plastic." Katherine took the cup that Tony offered her with a smile, holding it in her left hand while her right was carding through Clint's hair.

"Here's you beverage." Tony said to him, handing the other glass down to Clint. The man sat up so that he could drink it without spilling it all over himself.

"You'll be made of you, Mr. Barton." Dr. Cho said with a smile. "Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference."

"I don't have a girlfriend." Clint said while taking a breath between sips.

"That I can't fix." The doctor said before turning back to her monitors. Katherine chuckled at the woman. Clint glanced at Natasha before he laid his head back down, looking up at Katherine.

"I didn't tell you to stop." He said, feeling around with his free hand until it landed on Katherine's. He lifted her hand and placed it on his head. She chuckled again before running her fingers through his hair, letting her nails gently massage his scalp. He sighed as he closed his eyes and just enjoyed the sensation.

"This is the next thing, Tony." Dr. Cho said, turning her attention to the billionaire standing beside Katherine. "Your clunky metal suits are going to be left in the dust." She said as she tapped away on a tablet.

"That is exactly the plan." Everyone glanced at Tony. "And, Helen, I expect to see you at the party on Saturday."

"Unlike you, I don't have a lot of time for parties." Dr. Cho said, turning to look back at her charts before she looked back up at him. "Will Thor be there?" Katherine took a sip of her drink to keep from smiling. She looked down at Clint, the man was almost asleep.

"I'm going to go change. I'll be back if you want me to." She said to him, causing him to peek an eye open very slowly, looking up at her.

"No, no. You're good." He said, his words slurring slightly with sleep. She chuckled, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead before turning around, nudging her shoulder against Tony's gently as she made her way to the elevator. She pressed the button and waited patiently. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. She stepped inside, hitting the button on the panel as she took a sip from her drink. The doors closed quickly and the ride up felt just as quick. Another ding and the doors open. She stepped off and walked over to the main door to hers and Steve's floor.

They weren't always at the tower, hence their own apartment in the city and the Institute but it was good to have a floor all their own for when things like the party coming up happen. It was better than driving all the way home only to come back in three days. She slid her keycard through the lock and when she heard it click, she turned the knob. As soon as the door was open, she could smell something good. She stepped into the kitchen, leaning against the doorway to watch Steve finish putting the grilled cheese sandwiches on a plate.

"Hey." She said, smiling when she saw the man jump slightly.

"Hey." He said, putting the sandwiches in the microwave. "How's Barton?"

"Alive and well. Making jokes and making me play with his hair so… the usual." She said and Steve chuckled.

"Alright. Do you want to wash up for lunch?" He asked.

"Do you want to help me?" She answered with a question of her own.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Steve said with a smile but she could see the flush crawling from the collar of his shirt and up his neck.

"Aw, that's too bad. I guess I'll just go take a shower all by myself." Katherine said, unzipping the front of her suit all the way to her belly button before she stopped and reached around the back of her neck to take off the ring. She took off the glove on her left hand, slipping ring onto her ring finger as she turned and made her way towards their bedroom, shrugging off the top of the suit as she walked. She listened and for a moment, she thought Steve was actually going to refuse to join her. She was about to stop in front of their bedroom when she heard Steve's light footsteps following her. She chuckled and made her way into the bathroom, pausing to take off her boots before stepping into the bathroom. "Jarvis, could you please turn on the shower and set it to our usual temperature?" She asked the AI.

' _Of course Ms. Howlett.'_ The AI said just before the shower started. The one good thing about Jarvis is that he was really on top of things. He was one of the things that made it so easy to stay in the tower. Katherine smiled when she felt Steve's naked chest against her back. She tilted her head back, letting the man place slow, open-mouthed kisses to her neck. She reached back with her right hand, tangling it in the short hair at the nape of his neck. _'It's ready Ms. Howlett, Captain Rogers.'_ The pair jumped, momentarily forgetting about Jarvis.

"Thanks J." Katherine said as she pulled away from Steve to shed the rest of her suit and stepping under the water. The AI didn't answer, which was perfectly okay with Katherine. Steve stepped in a moment after, crowding the woman against the cold, tile wall with an impressive show of strength. She chuckled softly, arching into the man, pressing her chest against his. "So, we're going to tell them at the party Saturday?" Katherine asked, running her hands down Steve's back, feeling the muscles flex just under the skin. The man hummed and pressed himself closer to the woman, leaning down to press kisses to her neck.

"If you want." Steve said, standing up tall before leaning down to press a passionate kiss to her lips.

"You know, the point of getting in the shower was to get clean." Katherine said as she pulled away from Steve's lips. His lips strayed down to her neck before reaching down and grabbing her thighs in his hands, easily lifting her up. She laughed before wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.

"You can't get clean if you don't get a little dirty first." He said with a smirk.

"Hmm." She hummed, leaning down to kiss the Super Soldier once more. "I've become a terrible influence on you." The man chuckled before pressing another kiss to the hollow of her throat. It was a good thing that the tower wouldn't run out of hot water anytime soon.

 **XXX**

Steve and Katherine spent the next three days at the tower, being with their friends while waiting for the party. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Katherine saw that the party was getting ready to start. She looked at the dress in the mirror once more. It was a red bodycon dress that covered her entire front, all the way up to her neck like a high-neck dress with an open back design with straps crisscrossing all the way up to the strap around her neck. "Are you sure this is okay Steve?" She asked, turning to look at her back. Her hair fell in elegant waves, much different from its usual straight style. She was even wearing a decent amount of make-up. She turned back around and glanced at Steve in the mirror. He was wearing a simple pair of black slacks with a blue button up shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He smiled as he came up behind her, placing his hands on her hips before leaning down to press a kiss to her shoulder.

"You look beautiful." He said, lips brushing over the spot he kissed. She shivered slightly, rolling the engagement ring around her ring finger. She was going to wear it tonight and see just how many of their guests actually noticed.

"You don't look so bad yourself." She said, turning in his arms, wrapping her arm around his neck. He smiled before placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Ready?" He asked. She held up one finger.

"One more second." She sat down on the bed as she slipped her black heels on. She smiled at him when she was done, standing up and slipping her arm through the one he offered to her. "Okay, let's go."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry for the wait everyone! I'm going to try and update this one and all of my ongoing stories on Sundays! Please don't forget to fave, follow, and review to let me know what you guys think!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Katherine Howlett!**

 **XXX**

As soon as the couple stepped into the party, they were separated. Katherine was never much of a party-er, much less a people person but she'd found her nitch with the institute and the Avengers. She smiled at people who smiled at her and said hello. She stopped briefly to talk to mutual friends of all of the Avengers as well as some people Katherine didn't even know but that's Tony Stark for you. She tried to be nice and polite to everyone. She had been in the party for about thirty minutes and Katherine was trying to figure out a way to excuse herself from an older military man when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around, smiling when she saw Sam standing there. She hugged him before turning to the man she was just talking to. She excused herself to walk over to the pool tables with Sam, where Steve was waiting.

"Thank you." She said, linking her arm with Sam's when he offered it. "I was trying to come up with a nice way to excuse myself."

"I could tell." The man said, smiling at her. "The look on your face just screamed, _help me_!" She chuckled and nudged him gently with her arm.

"Hey you." She said, releasing herself from Sam and walking the last few steps towards Steve. The man smiled when he saw her, wrapping his arms around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck. She leaned up, silently asking for a kiss to which Steve complied. She chuckled slightly when she pulled away; his lips were a very subtle shade of red. Sam was chuckling behind them.

"That's a good color on you." Katherine smiled wider as she used her thumb to try and swipe the color off. "You two up for a game of pool?" Sam asked as he racked the balls.

"I'm game." Katherine answered with a smile.

"Me too." Steve said, picking up a pool que. Katherine watched as the game went on until the very end. They both had one ball left but Steve's shot was harder. "Can you make that shot?" Steve asked the brunette beside him. She walked around the table, looking for the best angle before stopping and leaning down.

"I think so." Steve handed her the que and watched as she lined up the shot.

"I'm telling you Steve. She's as hot as fire." Sam said watching the woman. Steve chuckled. Katherine could admit it, she felt hot. She could feel the extra eyes on her not just from Steve and Sam but from the other partygoers.

"Don't I know it." Steve said. She made the shot, sinking the ball easily. As she straightened she heard Sam.

"Wait a second? What is that? Is that a ring on her finger?" He questioned. "Are you serious?!" He asked excitedly. Katherine looked over and saw Sam and Steve hugging. She could see the flush working its way up her finance's neck.

"Yeah, we've been engaged for about a year just slowly planning it piece by piece as we got the chance." Steve said, smiling as he wrapped an arm around Katherine's shoulder and pressing a kiss to her temple.

"Come on Princess, let me see it." Sam said, holding out his hand. Katherine smiled at the name before she placed her hand in Sam's allowing him to see the ring. He gently turned her hand this way and that as he looked.

"This is nice." Sam said. Steve leaned his head against hers.

"Yeah, it's similar to my mother's ring. I remembered a lot about it and got this one custom made to be as similar as I could remember." He said, looking at the ring as Sam continued to admire it. Katherine reached over with her free hand and patted Steve's chest, feeling the man smile against her head.

"Well, you did a mighty good job my friend. I'm very impressed." Sam released her hand and pulled her into a hug. She chuckled but hugged the man back. "Congratulations sweetheart."

"Thank you Sam." She said, pulling away from the man and offering him a bright smile.

"So since you guys have been planning this piece by piece I'm going to assume there isn't a date yet…" He asked and they both nodded.

"Nope." Katherine answered.

"And nobody else knows yet. We're waiting to tell everyone else when the party is over and it's just us." Steve said as they put down the pool ques and began walking towards the stairs.

"Your secret is safe with me." Sam said with a smile.

"Thanks." Katherine said.

"So what is the story about the scepter? I heard something about it from Barton but I didn't get the whole story." Sam said and Steve went about explaining everything that had happened during their mission to get Loki's scepter from Strucker. "Sounds like a hell of a fight. Sorry I missed it." Sam said when Steve concluded the story. As they walked up the stairs, Steve grabbed Katherine's hand, his fingers lacing with hers.

"If I had known it was gonna be a firefight, I absolutely would have called." Steve said to the other man.

"No, no. I'm not actually sorry." He said and Katherine chuckled. "I'm just trying to sound tough. I'm very happy chasing cold leads on our missing persons case. Avenging is your world." Sam said as the three of them came over to a glass wall that allowed them to look down at the party downstairs. "Your world is crazy."

"Be it ever so humble." Steve said with a fondness in his voice.

"You find a place in Brooklyn yet?" Sam asked taking a sip of his drink.

"I don't think we can afford a place in Brooklyn." Steve said, looking at the other man.

"But we do have a cute little place just outside of NYC, until we can save up enough for that place in Brooklyn." Katherine said, leaning her head against Steve's arm as she looked at Sam.

"Well, home is home, you know?" The man said before turning and looking back down at the party. Steve watched him for a moment before pressing a kiss to the stop of Katherine's head before turning to look at the party as well.

 **XXX**

Katherine watched interested as Thor poured something in Steve's glass. He handed the glass to her to which she passed it to Steve. "I gotta have some of that." An older gentleman said to Thor, causing the three heroes to look up at him.

"Oh, no, no, no." Thor said to him, drawing Steve and Katherine's attention back to him. "See this… This was aged for 1,000 years in barrels built from the wreck of Grunhel's fleet." Thor poured some into her wine glass, just the tiniest bit, before passing back to her. She raised an eyebrow at the glass before smelling it. It didn't smell any different. She looked up at Steve who shrugged softly. "It's not meant for mortal men."

"Neither was Omaha Beach, Blondie." A war veteran said from where he was sitting on the couch beside Thor. "Stop trying to scare us. Come on." Thor turned to Steve and Katherine. The woman smiled and shrugged. Steve gave him a 'sure, why not' look. Thor tilted his head.

"Alright." He grabbed the man's glass and poured some into it before handing it back to him.

"Cheers." Katherine said, holding her glass out to the man.

"Cheers to you, pretty lady." He said before knocking back the drink. Katherine took a sip of hers. It honestly didn't taste any different.

 **XXX**

Katherine leaned her head on Steve's shoulder as they swayed slightly to the soft music playing; she was relaying what she was hearing from Natasha and Bruce's conversation since she could hear it. "Come on." Steve said, making their way over to the bar. Katherine stepped behind it to grab a bottle of water and to get Steve another beer. She opened her water before popping the top off of Steve's beer. The man smiled as he watched her before taking the beer when she offered it to him. She glanced behind her as Natasha stepped around her. The redhead offered her a small smile before disappearing into the dwindling party. "It's nice." Steve said from where he was leaning against the bar, drawing Bruce's and Katherine's attention.

"What is?" Bruce asked, stammering at the beginning of his sentence.

"You and Romanoff." He answered.

"No, we haven't… That wasn't…" Bruce stumbled, trying to come up with something to say.

"It's okay. Nobody's breaking any bylaws." He said, chuckling softly at Bruce. Katherine smiled as she took a sip of her water. "It's just she's not the most open person in the world. But with you she seems very relaxed."

"No. Natasha, she's just… she likes to flirt." Bruce said, pointing in the direction that the redhead had gone.

"I've seen her flirt, up close." Steve said, grabbing his beer. "This ain't that." Bruce scoffed and Katherine came around the bar to follow the Super Soldier. "Look, as maybe the world's leading authority on waiting too long, don't. You both deserve a win." Bruce looks down and nodded. Steve smiled at him one last time before turning to Katherine and kissing her briefly. He smiled at her as he walked away, rubbing the lipstick from his lips for not the first time that night. Katherine placed her hand on Bruce's arm before something seems to click with the both of them.

"What do you mean "up close"?" They both asked at the same time, turning to look in the direction the other man had went.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait everyone! Every time I tried to sit down and edit something would come up or my ADD would kick in and I would completely forget what I was doing, lol! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter; it was one of my favorites to write! :D I'll try to post again before next week, on Sunday or I might just wait until Monday. But anyway, please enjoy and don't forget to fave, follow, and review please! It would mean a lot to me!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Katherine Howlett!**

 **XXX**

Katherine laughed from her place between Steve and Thor. She loved moments like this. Where the whole team was together and they were fighting the bad guy of the week. It was just them… friends… family.

"It's a trick!" Clint said from where he was sitting, spinning a drumstick between his fingers.

"No, no, it's so much more than that." Thor said, passing the bottle of whatever he had poured into their glasses earlier to Steve.

"' _Ah, whosever be he worthy shall haveth the power.'_ Whatever, man! It's a trick!" Clint said, causing a few of the heroes to laugh. Thor laughed before motioning to the hammer sitting on the edge of the table.

"Please, be my guest." The room fell silent.

"Come on." Tony said.

"Really?" Clint asked.

"Yeah." Katherine said, smiling and motioning to the hammer.

"Oh, this is going to be beautiful." Rhodey said as Clint stood from where he was sitting on the floor and Katherine laughed.

"I hear that." She said, pointing over to the man. He pointed back, causing her to laugh a little more. She turned her attention back to the archer as he walked over to the hammer.

"Clint, you've had a tough week." Tony said to him. "We won't hold it against you if you can't get it up." Everyone laughed at Tony's joke. Katherine leaned over into Steve's side and he leaned against her, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"You know I've seen this before, right?" Clint asked Thor as he grabbed the handle and tried to lift it. He grunted as he pulled with everything he had. He began laughing. "I still don't know how you do it!"

"Smell the silent judgment?" Tony said, his face completely serious. Katherine laughed.

"Please, Stark, by all means." Clint said, turning to the billionaire. Tony stood up and cleared his throat as he unbuttoned his jacket.

"Okay." Maria said with a smile.

"Uh-oh." Rhodey said.

"I think you should take more off Stark." Katherine said, earning a nudge and a chuckle from Steve as he looked at her. She smiled, pressing a chaste kiss on his lips before turning back to the other man.

"Never one to shrink from an honest challenge." Tony said as he walked by Clint.

"Get after it." Clint said with a laugh, sitting back down in his place on the floor.

"It's physics." Tony said as if it just explained it all.

"Physics." Bruce said from where he was sitting.

"Right, so, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?" Tony asked, turning to Thor.

"Yes, of course." Thor said, trying to look completely serious and not break into a smile. Steve looked at Thor from Katherine's other side before hiding his face in her hair before a moment. He turned back to Tony, his hand covering his mouth to keep from laughing.

"I will be reinstituting _prima nocta_." He grunted as he tried to lift it. He had one foot on the table and both hands on the handle. It didn't budge an inch. He stopped pulling and stepped away from the hammer. "I'll be right back." When he came back a few moments later, he was wearing one of the gauntlets of the suit. Even with that on him, he couldn't move the hammer. He even had Rhodey put on the gauntlet of the War Machine suit and try to pull it. The hammer gave nothing.

"Are you even pulling?" Rhodey asked his best friend.

"Are you on my team?" Tony asked him.

"Just represent. Pull." He said causing everyone to laugh.

"Alright, let's go." Tony said. They eventually gave up and Bruce got up. The room cheered as the man walked over the hammer. He grabbed the handle and put both feet on the table as he pulled. He yelled as he let go of the hammer after a minute of pulling and held his hands in the air. Maria and Clint looked unimpressed but Katherine, Thor, and Steve were all smiling at the man. When Bruce sat down, Steve rocked up from his seat and stood.

"Yeah!" Katherine said, slapping him on the butt as he walked by her. He turned to her and gave her a playful glare. She just winked at him, watching the flush (she loved to make him blush if she was being honest with herself) rise from his collar.

"Go ahead Steve. No pressure." Tony said to the man. Steve rolled up his sleeves a little more as he walked to the hammer.

"Come on Cap." Clint said to him.

"You got this babe." Katherine said, leaning her elbows on her knees as she watched him grab the handle with both hands. He pulled and while it didn't look like it was moving, Katherine had picked up the slightly sound of the hammer moving across the table. No one else had heard it but Thor, who did look a bit worried. After the initial move, that hammer stayed planted to the table. Steve pulled one more good time before he sighed, letting go of the hammer. Thor chuckled.

"Nothing." He said before taking a sip of his drink. Katherine glanced at the God before moving slightly so that Steve could sit beside her. He didn't sit down like she thought he was going to though. Instead, he stood in front of her and motioned towards the hammer. She laughed, shaking her head.

"Nope. No thank you." She said, taking a sip from her water bottle.

"You're just afraid you won't be able to lift it." Clint said, spinning his drumstick around. The woman glanced around Steve before looking back up at him and taking the man's offered hand. He helped her stand and she offered him a smile as she slipped around him to make her way over to the hammer, pulling the hem of her dress down slightly. Everyone cheered as Tony wolf-whistled. She stepped up to the hammer, looking at it before turning to look at Clint.

"If I mess this dress up, you're paying for it." She said, pointing at the archer. He rolled his eyes playfully before making a 'get on with it' motion with her hands. She sighed before grabbing the handle of the hammer with both hands. She grunted as she pulled. The hammer didn't move an inch but her balance was completely thrown off by her heels. She let go of the hammer before leaning down to pull off her shoes. She threw them, one at a time, to Steve, which he caught easily.

"The shoes came off." Rhodey said.

"Big girls here to play." Tony said. Katherine looked at him and flipped him off with a smile. The man chuckled as she reached down and grabbed the hammer's handle again. She pulled with everything she had but it didn't move an inch. It didn't even make a sound like Steve's did. She sighed.

"I give up. Besides, none of you were able to move it so we're all even." She said before turning to walk back to her seat. She patted Thor's knee as she walked by. The larger man chuckled at her. She sat down; taking her shoes from Steve's hand and putting them back on. The room fell silent for a moment before Tony cleared his throat and Bruce motioned from Natasha to the hammer.

"And Widow?" He asked.

"Oh, no, no. That's not a question I need answered." The woman said, leaning back in her chair and taking a sip of her beer.

"All deference to the Man Who Wouldn't Be King, but it's rigged." Tony said.

"You bet your ass." Clint said as he, Tony, and Rhodey got up to get another beer.

"Steve, he said a bad language word." Maria said, pointing to Clint and Katherine leaned back against the couch laughing.

"Did you tell everyone about that?" Steve asked Tony.

"The handle's imprinted, right? Like a security code." The man said to Thor, completely ignoring the Super Soldier's question. " _'Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints'_ is, I think, the literal translation."

"Yes. It's a very, very interesting theory." Thor said as he stood up. "I have a simpler one." He said, reaching down with one hand to pick up the hammer. He threw it into the air, letting it flip around once before he caught it again. "You're all not worthy." Everyone groaned before Katherine chuckled. She grabbed Steve's hand, lacing their fingers together. He looked at her and she nodded.

"Hey guys, Steve and I have something we want to tell you." She said, getting everyone's attention.

"If it's about Steve no longer being the ninety-seven-year-old virgin, you're a little late." Tony said, causing everyone to chuckle and Steve face to turn red again.

"Funny Tony." The man smirked at her and she rolled her eyes. "No, we actually wanted to say that… well… we're getting—" Before Katherine could finish her sentence, a high-pitched noise filtered through the room causing everyone to cover their ears. When Katherine uncovered her ears, she could hear something moving around. She heard a low pitched voice say _worthy._ She stood up from the couch.

"Kathy?" Steve asked before following her line of sight. With her heightened senses, the Avengers have learned to trust her instincts. They all turned to where she was looking.

"No." The thing said. It had a limp… it almost looked like a gutted Iron Legion machine but it was talking and moving on its own. "How could you be worthy?" It stepped into the light. It was a former Iron Legion. It looked like it had been gutted or put together with old, broken pieces. "You're all killers."

"Stark." Steve said, reaching out to grab Katherine's hand and pull her closer to him. She hadn't even noticed the man stand up.

"Jarvis." Tony said, calling for the AI.

"I'm sorry, I was asleep." The machine spoke again. "Or I was a-dream." It moved its head, looking from one side to the other before it looked right at the heroes.

"Reboot Legionnaire OS. We got a buggy suit." Tony said to the tablet he was holding.

"There was this terrible noise. And I was tangled in… in… strings." The suit moved around like it was still tangled. "I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy." It said, turning back to them.

"You killed someone?" Steve asked. His voice seemingly so loud compared to the softer voice coming out of the suit and the silence of the room.

"Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices." It said.

"Who sent you?" Thor asked from the other side of Katherine.

" _I see a suit of armor around the world._ " The machine spoke but not in the voice they'd heard before. This time, it was Tony's voice. It almost sounded like a recording.

"Ultron." Bruce said, looking over to Tony.

"In the flesh." The suit said it its usual voice. "Or, no, not yet. Not this chrysalis." The suit turned while it looked down at its own body. "But I'm ready." Katherine let electricity dance through the fingers of the hand Steve wasn't holding. She saw Maria cock her gun out of the corner of her eyes and Thor's grip tighten on the handle of Mjolnir. "I'm on a mission."

"What mission?" Natasha asked.

"Peace in our time." It spoke just before the Iron Legion busted through the walls on each side of it. Steve let go of Katherine's hand and kicked up the table. The woman ducked down as one of the suits hit the table, knocking it and Steve back over the railing and onto the floor below. Maria began firing shots as Thor hit them with his hammer. Katherine got up quickly, trying to hit them with, hopefully, enough electricity to short circuit them. In her peripheral, she saw one grab Loki's scepter. She turned to it, charging up the electricity when she saw one about the blast her. A second later, Steve jumped onto its back, punching it in the head only for it to fly backwards and knock him hard into the wall above the bar. She turned to her fiancé, not realizing that one the Legion was aiming right for her. She gasped in surprise when she was grabbed from behind and held tightly to someone's chest as they rolled glass shattering behind them. Coming to a stop on her back, she glanced up and saw Clint.

"Are you okay?" She asked, sitting up, gently putting her hands on his arms to help him up as well.

"Yeah, I'm good." Clint said, allowing her to help him.

"Good." She said before getting up, kicking off her shoes, and running over to the Steve's shield. She knew that even with all the glass on the ground, her feet would heal. She ran up the stairs, throwing it at one of the Legion, hitting directly on it throat. The force behind the shield knocked it back into a wall, severing its head from the body. The woman nodded to herself.

"You're getting good at that." Clint said as he came up behind her.

"I know." She said before using a powerful gust of wind to knock it free from the wall. She jumped up and grabbed it before turning and looking around, quickly finding Steve.

"Cap!" She yelled before winding-up and letting it fly. The man caught it easily before throwing it again, breaking the last of the Iron Legion into many pieces.

"Well, that was dramatic." Ultron said. "I'm sorry. I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through." He said while hobbling around. "You want to protect the world but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's now allowed to evolve?" Katherine glanced at Clint as he walked a level above her. "With these?" Ultron asked, leaning down to grab one of the Iron Legion's heads. "These puppets." He easily crushed its head with one hand before dropping it back to the ground. "There's only one path to peace. The Avenger's extinction." Thor threw his hammer, knocking Ultron back into a wall and breaking apart the already broken body. As the body lay there, unmoving, Katherine could hear it speak once more.

" _I had strings, but now I'm free._ " She whispered, listening to what the machine said before its eyes stopped shining. "There are no strings on me." She finished the song from the popular Disney movie, Pinocchio. She jumped slightly when Steve laid a hand on her shoulder before turning her to him and gently cupping her cheeks.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly and she nodded. He wrapped one arm around her waist while the other cradled the back of her head, pulling her into a tight hug. She hugged the man back just as tightly, burying her face in his neck.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry again for the wait! At this point it's better to just say that this story (and my others) have not been forgotten about and will be updated when I can find the chance to! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Please don't forget to fave, follow, and review to let me know what you guys think!**

 **P.S. This was supposed to be uploaded a week ago but I had a really bad storm and lightning killed my modem so… I finally got it posted though! :D**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Katherine Howlett!**

 **XXX**

They picked up the pieces of the Iron Legion that Ultron was using as his body and brought it to Tony's lab. The lab was silent as Natasha worked on one of their computers. "All our work is gone." Bruce said, breaking the silence. "Ultron cleared it out. He used the Internet as an escape hatch."

"Ultron." Steve whispered the name above Katherine. She was sitting on a stool with Steve standing behind her, his chest pressed against her back. She could feel him breathing but she was taking a huge comfort in that as she did anytime they were home from a mission or a fight.

"He's been in everything. Files, surveillance." Natasha said, looking up from the computer and turning around to the rest of the heroes in the room. She had changed out of her dress into a pair of sweats, a tank top, and a hoodie. Katherine had run to her room as well, grabbing a pair of black leggings and grabbing one of Steve's pull-over hoodie's that was much too big for her but was extremely comfy. Everyone else was in their party clothes. "Probably knows more about us than we know about each other." Natasha finished, leaning back against the desk.

"He's in your files, he's in the internet." Rhodey said as he walked through the lab, holding his arm from where he'd been injured in the fight. "What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?"

"Nuclear codes." Maria said, looking up from where she was sitting. She was pulling pieces of glass from her foot.

"Nuclear codes." Rhodey said, motioning to the woman before turning his attention back to the others, mostly Tony. "Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can."

"Nukes? He said he wanted us dead." Natasha said.

"He didn't say "dead." He said "extinct."" Steve said, tightening his grip on Katherine's shoulder. The woman reached up and laced their fingers together.

"He also said he killed somebody." Clint said as he came closer to the group.

"Who though?" Katherine asked, glancing between Tony and Bruce.

"There wasn't anybody else in the building." Maria said, looking over at him.

"Yes there was." Tony said, stepping around Steve and Katherine. He stepped into the middle of the lab, the most open part before powering up a tablet. With the flick of his wrist, the physical manifestation of Jarvis appeared but it looked nothing like the last time Katherine had seen it. It looked broken. She gripped Steve's hand a little tighter as she watched Bruce walk around it.

"What?" Bruce asked as he came to stand next to the hologram. He looked up at Tony before looking back down at it. "This is insane."

"Jarvis was the first line of defense." Steve said. "He would have shut Ultron down. It makes sense."

"No. Ultron could have assimilated Jarvis." Bruce said, not looking up from the hologram. "This isn't strategy. This is… rage."

"Bruce would know about that." Katherine said quietly. Where there would normally be humor in her voice, there was none. Even though it was just Jarvis, a computer program, he'd become a part of their lives. If Ultron was powerful and angry enough to take him down… who knew what he could do to them. The doors opened and Thor came striding in, completely dressed in his Asgardian garb. He went right for Tony, grabbing him by the neck and lifting him into the air.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Steve said, letting go of Katherine. The woman slid off the stool and let her hands catch fire. If electricity didn't hurt him, she would find something that would.

"It's going around." Clint said with a bored tone, glancing around the lab at everyone.

"Come on, use your words, buddy." Tony gasped, his hands on Thor's wrists.

"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark." Thor said to the man.

"Thor. The Legionnaire." Steve said as he took on his Captain-tone. He stepped towards the Demi-God. Tony groaned and stumbled back when Thor dropped down to his feet. Katherine's hands returned to normal just before she reached out and grabbed Tony's arm, keeping the man from falling.

"Trail went cold about 100 miles out, but it's headed North. And it has the scepter." Thor said, directing the last part to Tony. "Now we have to retrieve it, again."

"Genie's out of that bottle." Natasha said, drawing their attention. "Clear and present is Ultron."

"I don't understand." Dr. Cho, who Katherine honestly forgot was there, spoke from beside the Ultron-body. "You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?" The room fell silent before Tony began chuckling. Everybody watched him; Bruce shook his head from where he was standing beside Tony.

"You think this is funny?" Thor asked, stepping closer to the man. Katherine took a step forward, intercepting the God and looking up at him.

"No." Tony answered. "It's probably not, right? This is very terrible. It is so…" He laughed again and Katherine can't help but think the genius had finally lost it. "Is it so… It is. It's so terrible."

"This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand." Thor said, walking closer to the man and pointing at him. Katherine turned fully towards the God, standing her ground.

"No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It is funny." Tony said and Katherine could hear him walking up behind her. "It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this." The genius was standing directly behind her when he spoke before he gently but his hand on Katherine's arm and gently pushing her to the side. She took a step over but she never took her eyes off of Thor. She could tell Steve was getting antsy with her in the middle of the two but he didn't say anything. There were moments that he forgot just how powerful she was, that she had a healing factor and could handle herself from years in wars and as an X-Man.

"Tony…" Bruce said softly. "Maybe this might not be the time."

"Really? That's it?" Tony asked as he turned around to look at the doctor. "You just roll over; show your belly every time somebody snarls?" Thor turned and stepped away from the woman and she let her shoulders relax slightly.

"Only when I've created a murder bot." Bruce said completely serious and Katherine had to purse her lips to keep from laughing at the very inappropriate moment.

"We didn't." Tony said, holding his arms out to the side. "We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?" He asked the other man. Bruce nodded and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, you did something right. And you did it right here." Steve said from where he was standing. He uncrossed his arms and came closer to where Katherine and Tony were standing. "The Avengers were supposed to be different than S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?" Tony asked, looking around the room at everyone else.

"No, it's never came up." Rhodey said sarcastically.

"Saved New York?" Tony asked.

"Never heard that." Rhodey spoke again.

"When did that happen?" Katherine asked sarcastically.

"Recall that?" Tony repeated the question. No one said anything. "A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing 300 feet below it." There was a pause and the room was silent as they all turned to him. "We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but that up there, that's… That's the endgame. How were you guys planning on beating that?"

"Together." Steve said as if it was the easiest answer in the world. Tony stepped towards him.

"We'll lose."

"Then we'll do that together, too." Tony turned away from the Captain. "Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller." Steve turned and walked out of the room. Katherine stood there for a few moments, looking around the room. Steve was right. They were going to need to stay together as a team to beat Ultron. If they fell apart now… they would surely lose.

"United we stand. Divided we fall." She said loudly in the room before turning and following Steve out, her bare feet barely making a noise on the cold, metal floors.

 **XXX**

She stepped into their bedroom; Steve was shrugging off his dress shirt before throwing it in the hamper. Katherine stepped forward and gently ran her fingertips down his back. He looked at her over his shoulder before he turned around, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into a hug. "Is one normal night too much to ask for?" Steve asked, his voice muffled by the hoodie.

"We'll never be normal. We've been through too much shit to do that." She said, resting her head on his shoulder as she played with the hair at the nape of his neck. He nodded softly, gently pulling away from the woman. "We should try and get some sleep. I don't think we'll be getting any for a while." She said as she walked over to the bed. Steve nodded softly but didn't say anything. She crawled onto the bed, leaving everything on as she collapsed on her pillow, on top of the covers. Steve smiled softly, slipping out of his slacks and trading them for a pair of sweats.

"Kathy, you got to get under the covers." He said, nudging the woman's leg as he came over to the bed.

"No." She said, sounding a little too aware for Steve to think she'd even fallen into a light sleep. He chuckled and rolled his eyes playfully before rolling the woman over and wrapping an arm around her back and knees before lifting her up. She groaned as she was lifted, opening one eye to glance up at him before closing it again, resting her head against his chest. With the hand behind her knees, he managed to pull the covers down before setting Katherine back into the bed. She rolled over to face him, settling into her spot before opening her eyes and reaching out for him. He gave her a small smile before he got into the bed, settling beside her. As he pulled the covers over them, the woman scooted closer, wrapping an arm around his waist before settling her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat under her ear. He slid an arm around her as well before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her head. He laid his head back onto his pillow, trying to fall asleep. With everything going on, he wouldn't be surprised if neither of them slept at all.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey guys! Things have not been going right when it comes to getting these stories edited and posted but I'm really going to try and get them up for you guys! I just want to say thank you for all the faves, follows, and reviews you guys leave on this and every other story I'm writing! It really motivates me to write and post more, so thanks again! Please don't forget to fave, follow, and review! :D**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Katherine Howlett!**

 **XXX**

It was early the next morning and Steve was right, neither of them had gotten any sleep. They didn't speak all night… they just didn't sleep. Katherine moved around a little too much for him to think she was asleep. With a quiet sigh, he untangled himself from Katherine. The woman opened one eye, watching him. He gave her a smile before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her head. She closed her eye again, seeing if maybe she could get some real sleep. She knew that if she couldn't sleep with Steve in the bed, that there was no way she was sleeping without him. The man stood up to his full height before walking towards the door to the bedroom. He walked through their silent apartment before he got onto the elevator to head down to the lower levels. He put on the bottom half of his suit, leaving the rest where it was and keeping on his gray t-shirt. They remained silent until they made it to their desired floor.

"He's all over the globe." Maria said as the elevator opened and the pair stepped out. "Robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs. Reports of a metal man, or men, coming in and emptying the place out."

"Fatalities?" Steve questioned.

"Only when engaged. Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, and "something too fast to see.""

"Maximoffs." Steve said, knowing exactly who Maria was talking about. "That makes sense he'd go to them. They have someone in common."

"Not anymore." Maria said, turning to her tablet. Steve stopped at the top of the steps to turn to her. He took it when offered; looking down at what she was showing him. The picture was of Strucker dead with _peace_ written beside his body in his own blood on the wall.

 **XXX**

Katherine sighed about twenty minutes after Steve left. She was right, sleep was useless. She laid one arm over her eyes, wishing for some sleep before she rolled out of bed. She stretched out her slightly sore muscles, her body still healing from the fight with the Iron Legion. She stood up and followed Steve's footprints out of their apartment to the lower levels. She walked to the elevator and riding it down to the suit-room as she called it. When she got there, she noticed that the bottom half of the Captain America suit was missing, meaning that Steve was wearing it. Katherine grabbed her suit, putting it on. It was a pair of leather pants with thigh-high boots. The top was a similar vest style that she wore with her X-Suit. The difference was the sheer material that covered her mid-stomach. Tony had made the material himself, it was said to be able to withstand most rounds fired from a gun. She hoped she wouldn't have to test the theory.

She pulled her mid-bicep length gloves on, looking at the color-changing gem on the back of her hands. It changed colors according to whatever element she was going to be using. That was another Tony Stark add-on. All and all, she actually did like the costume. She took her ring off her finger and put it back on the chain around her neck. The vest had a relatively low V in the front, meaning that there was nowhere to hide the ring. Not that it mattered to her at any rate. She left her hair down as she made her way back to the elevator, her heels clicking on the floor. The ride up was quiet… no Jarvis to randomly speak and surprise everyone. It was actually a bit depressing.

The elevator stopped in the main room, which was still destroyed from the night before. She made her way up the stairs into one of Tony's smaller labs. Everyone was gathered inside. Tony was the first to hear her shoes; he turned to her, offering her a smile when he saw her in the new suit. "You like the new suit?" He asked. She smiled.

"It's very Tony-fied." She answered and he chuckled.

"Just wait. There are all kinds of little goodies pack into that." It was her turn to chuckle.

"Can't wait." She stepped over to Steve, the man wrapping an arm around her neck and pulling her close without even looking at her. She leaned up on her toes, asking for a kiss. He pressed his lips to hers before handing her the tablet.

"What's this?" Tony asked as he came closer. Thor was looking over Katherine's shoulder as she held the tablet.

"A message." Steve said. "Ultron killed Strucker." The woman handed the tablet to Tony.

"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us." He said before looking up at everyone. Bruce came to look over his shoulder.

"This is a smoke screen." Natasha said from where she sat in front of the computer. "Why send a message when you've just given a speech?"

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss." Steve said, glancing at Katherine. The woman nodded her head.

"Yeah, I bet he—" Natasha paused to look up at the screen. "Yeah. Everything we have on Strucker's been erased."

"Not everything." Steve said and Katherine knew that meant a lot of reading. Everyone grabbed a box, looking through them for anything that might be useful to them.

"Known associates." Steve said, setting a box down on the table. Katherine was sitting on a table away from everyone, a box beside her and papers scattered on the table behind her and on the floor. "Baron Strucker had a lot of friends."

"Well, these people are all horrible." Bruce said, looking through his files.

"Wait." Tony said, catching everyone's attention. "I know that guy." He was pointing to the file in Bruce's hand. The doctor handed him the file, watching as Tony read over it. "From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms." Katherine set her papers down before sliding off the table and walking over to him. Steve looked at Tony with a face. "There are conventions. Alright? You meet people." Katherine poked him in the side as she looked over the papers. "I didn't sell him anything." Katherine glanced up when Clint came to join them. "He was talking about finding something new, a game-changer. It was all very Ahab."

"This." Thor said, pointing to something on the pictures he was holding. He tilted it to show Steve, Tony, Clint, and Katherine.

"Ah, it's a tattoo; I don't think he had it." Tony explained.

"Those are tattoos, this is a brand." Thor said, pointing from around the front of the man's neck before moving to another picture that showed the back. Katherine held out her hand, Thor placed the paper in it. She brought it closer to her face, looking closer. She could feel Tony looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah, that's definitely a brand. The way the skin healed means that definitely isn't a tattoo. I've never seen it before… even when I was on Team X." She said, handing the picture to Steve. Bruce took one look at it before making his way over to a computer.

 **XXX**

The search lasted a few minutes before the computer beeped with the results. "Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning 'thief'… in a much less friendly way." Bruce said, turning to the rest of the team.

"What dialect?" Katherine asked.

"Wakanada…Wakanda." Bruce stammered over how to pronounce it. Steve looked at Katherine.

"Do you know it?" He knew she'd spent some time in Africa, he just wasn't sure in what part or how much. She bit her thumbnail before shaking her head. When they were looking for the Adamantium, they had crossed into that part of Africa but Wade had been the one translating so she never even bothered to learn any of the language or the dialect... she thought she'd never have to go to Africa again. Steve looked at Tony over the top of the woman's head.

"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods… " Tony began. Steve turned to the man.

"I thought your father said he got the last of it."

"I don't follow." Bruce said, coming over to them. "What comes out of Wakanda?" Katherine released her thumb, rubbing her index finger over it.

"Two of the strongest metals on Earth." She said and Tony looked at her confused.

"Two?" He asked. She nodded, looking at Steve's shield before turning back to him.

"Vibranium and Adamantium. Both metals came out of Africa. I was there briefly with Team X when we were hunting down Adamantium to use for Logan's experiment." She said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Vibranium, like its name though, it better at shock absorbing and repelling which is why it makes a better weapon or shield. Adamantium is solid and heavy, it would be hard to use as a weapon. Logan's healing factor and pure strength of will help to make it work for him. Either element in the wrong hands can be extremely deadly." She bit down on her thumbnail again, looking up at both Tony and Steve before looking back down at the ground again.

"Where is this guy now?" Steve asked the billionaire.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I know I say this every time but I really am going to start trying to update once a week, maybe once every two weeks. Things just kind of fall apart when I try to sit down and edit! I'm slowly getting closer to the end and I have so many more ideas for the next one! Please don't forget to fave, follow, and review! It would mean so much to me!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Katherine Howlett!**

 **XXX**

Katherine walked through the ship as quietly as she could behind Steve. The man reached back and grabbed her hand, squeezing it slightly before releasing it. "Stark is… He's a sickness!" Ultron yelled as they made it out of the doorway. He was standing there with the Maximoff twins. Thor stepped up beside Katherine as Tony landed in the Ironman suit.

"Ah, Junior." He said causing Ultron to turn around. Tony landed the sound, the metal on metal thud echoing through the now quiet ship. "You're going to break your old man's heart."

"If I have to." Ultron turned around fully. He was a lot bigger than Katherine remembered. He looked better built too. He had a real body and everything. Katherine caught sight of Wanda and Pietro coming to stand beside him.

"Nobody has to break anything." Thor said from his place on their right.

"Clearly you've never made an omelet." Katherine raised an eyebrow. A sassy _murder bot_ (as Bruce called him) that was a new one.

"He beat me by one second." Tony said, turning his head towards Thor. The Demi-God glanced at him.

"Ah, yes. He's funny." Pietro said as he stepped forward. "Mr. Stark. It's what? Comfortable?" Katherine stepped forward, closer to Ironman but still behind him, watching the twins carefully. If she learned anything about her time with Stryker, it was that created metahumans were the most unpredictable. "Like old times?" Pietro looked down at the missiles under them.

"This was never my life." Tony said to them.

"You two can still walk away from this." Steve said to them.

"Oh, we will." Wanda said to him.

"I know you've suffered." Steve said and Ultron scoffed before he chuckled.

"Captain America. God's righteous man. Pretending you can live without a war." The machine said and Katherine let electricity dance up and down her arm. "And Mother Nature… what a fitting name. All those elemental powers make you a force of nature don't they?" He asked. She glared at him. "134 years is a long time to spend fighting. Never getting the chance to settle down because no man will look past your… amazingly destructive powers. Do you still have nightmares about what you did as a part of Team X?" He asked. The woman took in a deep breath, feeling Thor and Steve's eyes on her from behind. She could see Tony's head turn towards her as well as the Maximoff twins watching her. She felt Steve reach out and put a hand to her back. There was another scoff from Ultron. "I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but… "

"If you believe in peace, then let us keep it." Thor said, cutting off the machine.

"I think you're confusing "peace" with "quiet."" Ultron said, taking a few steps closer to the heroes.

"Uh-huh. What's the vibranium for?" Tony asked.

"I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan." His hand glowed blue for a moment before he clenched his fists. Tony was being pulled towards him at the same moment three other metal men landed in front of Thor, Steve, and Katherine. The woman barely had time to duck before Ultron opened his fast and blasted Tony, the man flying back and hitting one of the closed doors behind them. Instantly, Tony was up and flying towards Ultron. The fight between those two was pretty intense but Katherine didn't have much time to worry about them. She ducked another punch before looking down at her hand, the gems could be twisted. Curious and running low on options, she twisted the dial. Quickly, her hand and forearm were covered in what seemed to be gauntlets similarly to what was on the Ironman suit. She looked up from her kneeling position before standing up as one of the metal men walked towards her. She reared back and punched the center of the robot's chest. She was a little surprised when her first went right through it and she didn't feel a thing.

"Huh…" She muttered before charging up the electricity. A screen appeared on her wrist, showing how much power she was storing up. "Okay, this is kinda cool." She said to herself before she opened her hand when the screen read that she'd hit the level of a lightning strike. The machine blew up around her hand, leaving nothing but piece of metal around her. "Okay, Tony's getting something really cool for Christmas." She said, looking down at her hand. There wasn't a scratch on the metal. She turned the gem back to where it was at the metal receded back into the silver ring around the gem. "So cool." She said again before turning her attention to the fight going on around her. Gunfire started and Katherine created a shield of wind to block Thor and Steve from getting hit. She felt something hit her in the back, knocking her down and causing her to hit her head. She saw stars as she laid there for a moment to collect herself. She looked up and saw Steve fly back, presumably from the same force that had hit her. It couldn't have been anything else other than Pietro. Together, Steve and Thor took out the last of the robots. She saw Steve throw his shield towards the men that were making their way towards them. She rolled onto her stomach before getting to her feet and looking over the railing. Pietro was lying among the crates, coming back to consciousness.

"Mother Nature!" Steve called, letting her know that the shield was coming to her. She was always a bit surprised when Steve used her name in battle. Half the time, she couldn't remember to use anyone else's. She put a foot on the railing and jumped up, catching the shield before letting herself fall to the level below and landing in front of Pietro. She hit him with the shield causing him to grunt and fall back down.

"I'd stay down if I was you." She said before using the wind to make a platform and come back up to throw the shield back at Steve. He caught it easily.

"Thor, status." Steve said to the man when Katherine landed beside him. He glanced at her before looking at the upper platform where Thor was walking.

" _The girl tried to warp my mind. Take special care. I doubt a human could keep her at bay. Fortunately, I am mighty._ " Katherine looked at Steve and shook her head before turning around and roundhouse kicking a guard as he tried to come up behind the two of them. A second later, Katherine had been knocked down again and Pietro had taken Steve somewhere else on the ship.

" _Cover your ears."_ Clint said through the comm-link. Katherine covered her ears and she felt the explosion from one of his arrows through her body. When everything became quiet, she stood up and looked around. She nodded her head softly.

"Very nice Hawkeye." She said, stepping over one of the henchmen to make her way deeper into the ship. There was a crash and as Katherine ran towards it, she saw Pietro running off with Wanda in his arms. She looked down through the broken glass and saw Clint. She jumped down, landing beside the archer. "You okay?" She asked. He groaned as he sat up.

"Yeah, I'm okay." He touched a finger to his comm. "Who's ever standing, we got to move!" There was no reply from anyone.

"Guys?" Katherine asked, touching her comm as well. "Do you think Wanda got to them?" She asked, standing up and offering her hand to him. He accepted it, letting her help him up.

"Maybe…" Clint said, stretching his back.

"You okay to walk?" She asked and he nodded his head. She grabbed his arm and put it over her shoulder, helping him to walk. They found Natasha, sitting at the foot of some steps.

"Nat! Nat…" Clint said, taking her face between his hands and trying to get her to focus on him but nothing worked. She was just staring off into space.

"Definitely Wanda." Katherine said, looking around for Steve. She found him lying on the floor a few feet away. She ran over to him, kneeling down by his head.

"Steve! Stevie…" She tapped his cheek slightly but, like Natasha, he was out of it. She sighed slightly as she grabbed his arm and looped it over her shoulders, using all of her strength to get him to his feet.

" _Natasha, I could really use a lullaby._ " Tony said thorough the comms.

"That's not gonna happen. Not for a while." Clint told him, putting her arm around his shoulder so that he could help her up.

"The whole team is down." Katherine said as she helped Steve down the hall. "You've got no backup here. We're going to need to come back for Thor." She said to Clint as she followed him down the hall. He made a noise of agreement.

" _I'm calling in Veronica."_ Tony said and Katherine knew what that meant. He was calling in Bruce's AI that controls the Hulk Buster suit. As soon as Clint and Katherine made it back to the ship, she turned on the news. She was getting all kinds of footage of the Hulk and Tony fighting. She winced before turning to Clint.

"I have to go back and get Thor. You stay here with them." She said and the archer nodded.

 **XXX**

Between the time that Katherine got Thor to the ship, Tony had leveled most of the city fighting the Hulk. They waited for Tony to bring Bruce back before Clint sat down in the pilot's seat and flew them home. It was one of the quietest rides ever. Bruce was sitting on the floor, leaning against a chair, wrapped in a blanket. Steve was sitting off to the side, unusually quiet. Katherine wasn't sure if he had come out of whatever Wanda had done to him or even what he saw but he didn't want to be bothered and Katherine could respect that. Thor was pacing around the ship, rubbing his hands together. He was very much the same as Steve.

" _The news is loving you guys."_ Maria said over the radio of the jet. " _Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest but it's in the air._ " Natasha and Tony were sitting in chair, quiet as well. Tony sighed before he spoke softly.

"The Stark Relief Foundation?" He asked.

" _Already on the scene. How's the team?_ " Maria answered.

"Everyone's…" Tony began. "We took a hit. We'll shake it off."

" _Well, for now, I'd stay in stealth mode and stay away from here."_ She said and Katherine sighed as she walked towards the back of the ship. As she walked by Steve, she noticed the man lift his head slightly to watch her but she gave no acknowledgment that she saw it.

"So, run and hide?" She could hear Tony say.

" _Until we find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer._ " Maria said back, sounding apologetic. Tony said something quietly to her before the ship went silent again. Katherine sat down in the darkest corner she could find and just watched the team. She could see elements of Team X all throughout the ship but she tried to stay away from those dark thoughts. She grabbed her duffle bag that was sitting there, reaching inside and pulling out one of Steve's zip-up hoodies. She pulled her hair from its ponytail and took her gloves off before putting them into the bag. She put the hoodie on, leaving it unzipped but putting the hood over her head and closing her eyes. She wasn't sure where Clint was taking them but she trusted the man to know somewhere safe.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Sorry for this chapter being so late! Things haven't been going the way I would hope with work and such. I hope you guys like it though! Please don't forget to fave, follow, and review! It would mean the world to me!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Katherine Howlett!**

 **XXX**

Katherine was awakened by the ship landing. From the light inside the jet, it was easy to see that it was morning. She took the hoodie off, putting it back in the bag before watching as everyone made their way off the jet. She followed behind them silently, walking at the back of their group. Clint was in the front, letting Natasha lean on him as they made their way to the door. It was a cute little farmhouse. What Katherine noticed that was a surprise was that… it looked lived in. Not like a normal safe house where it looks old and rundown but this looked… like someone's actual home. What kind of safe house was this? Walking inside, Katherine saw that the inside was as nice as the outside. It was warm and cozy.

"Honey?" Clint said, looking around. "I'm home." It didn't sound like a joke, it sounded… sincere. A woman (a very pregnant woman) came from around the corner. She was pretty. She was a brunette with what Katherine thought was brown eyes. She looked a little surprised to see the rest of the team but she did offer them all smiles. "Hi." Clint said when he saw her. "Company. Sorry, didn't call ahead."

"Hey." She said quietly before kissing the archer before giving him a hug. Katherine tried to ignore the pang in her chest. She hadn't even talked to Steve since they'd left the jet prior to fighting Ultron.

"This is an agent of some kind." Tony said, looking at everyone.

"Gentlemen… and Kat." The woman smiled at him. "This is Laura." The woman waved slightly.

"I know all your names." She chuckled. Clint smiled. Katherine offered her a small wave while everyone else looked a little… confused? Unconfortable? Maybe a little of both. Katherine knew she felt that way. Tony waved a little like Katherine did. Katherine heard the small footsteps coming towards the room before anyone else did. She turned her head slightly to the sound and Clint, knowing whoever was in the house and Katherine's body language, smiled.

"Ooh. Incoming." Clint said, moving away from Laura.

"Dad!" A little girl said as she came around the corner. A young boy followed her, both smiling widely at Clint. He picked up the girl, holding her close.

"Hi sweetheart. Hey buddy." He said to both kids before hugging them. "How are you guys doing?" He asked and Katherine tried not to laugh at the look of concentration of Steve's face as he tried to piece together what the hell was going on.

"These are smaller agents." Tony said, sound a little less convinced with his own story.

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" The little girl asked. Clint gasped. Steve looked over at Katherine, who raised an eyebrow and shrugged, silently telling him she had no idea what was going on either.

"Why don't you hug her and find out?" Natasha said as she walked towards the little girl. She ran towards the redhead, letting her pick her up and hug her close.

"Sorry for barging in on you." Steve said to the woman.

"Yeah, we would have called ahead but we were busy having no idea that you existed." Tony said and Katherine glared at him.

"Tony!" She scolded. He looked at her and shrugged.

"Yeah, well, Fury helped me set this up when I joined." Clint said with his arms around the shoulders of his wife and son. "He kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D's files. I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low." Katherine leaned forward to look around Bruce and Tony when she heard a crunching sound. Thor lifted his foot off a Lego house that he'd broken. Natasha began talking to Laura while Thor kicked the broken house under the couch. Steve looked up at Thor and the God looked between Steve and Katherine before looking away like nothing happened. The woman chuckled softly before pulling her hair back into a ponytail. She watched as Thor walked past her, Steve following after him. Katherine smiled at Laura before following them, leaning against the main doorway.

"Thor?" Steve asked the man.

"I saw something in that dream. I need answers. I won't find them here." Thor spun his hammer before taking off. Steve looked around the yard for a moment before turning around, stopping when he saw Katherine. He sighed before turning away from her and walking down the porch. She nodded her head and walked back inside. She was perfectly aware of Tony and Bruce watching her quietly.

 **XXX**

Katherine sat on the porch, coloring with Lila. She smiled up at Clint when he walked by her with his son, pulling her ponytail. "Don't make me tell on you." She said with a smile. Clint laughed before turning his attention to what he and his son were doing.

"You gotta be nice dad." The little girl said and Katherine looked up at him and stuck her tongue out. Clint laughed again.

"Alright baby. I'm sorry Kat." He said while smiling.

"I accept your apology Clint." She said, smiling back. She looked up and watched Steve and Tony cutting firewood.

"You know you and Steve are going to have to double up just like Nat and Banner." Katherine looked back at the man.

"I figured." She said.

"Are things alright? You two haven't spoken since before the fight with Ultron."

"I know… I don't know what the girl had showed him. I wanted to let him come to me and tell me what's wrong."

"I understand." The archer said before turning his attention back to his son. Katherine turned her attention back to Lila, smiling at her as they continued to draw and color. She looked up when she felt someone staring at her. When she looked up, she saw Steve looking over Tony's shoulder at her. She watched him for a moment before looking back down at the girl beside her. Hearing Laura nearing the porch, Katherine slipped to the side so that the woman would be able to make her way down.

"Thank you." She offered Katherine a smile as she walked over to Steve and Tony. Speaking with them briefly, Tony turned and made his way towards the barn. Laura came back up the porch before stopping.

"Do you think you could help me with something Katherine?" The woman asked, looking down at her. The hero looked up in surprise before nodding her head.

"Uh… sure." She stood, telling Lila that she would be back in a minute. Glancing at Clint, he didn't look surprised by his wife asking for her help. He had probably asked her to do it. The traitor. She followed the woman inside, into the kitchen.

"I don't know if you can cook but I could really use the help and Nat is not good at it." She finished her sentence with a chuckle. Katherine offered her a small smile.

"I work at a boarding school for the gifted; I had to learn to cook." She said, coming to stand beside Laura. They worked together in comfortable silence. Katherine could see why Clint was with her. She was calm in everything she did, a reassuring person to be around.

"I know I don't know you." Laura began. "But I can sense the tension in the air between you and the Captain." Katherine glanced at her before going back to the vegetables she was washing.

"Like I'm sure Clint told you, the team suffered a pretty hard it. It affected Nat, Steve, and Bruce." She explained. "They're all trying to come out of it but… I don't know how to approach him about it. I wanted him to come to me, knowing that he can tell me if he feels the need to without me bombarding him for information."

"You know…" Laura turned to her, smiling slightly. "Sometimes, it's okay to push." Katherine turned off the water and looked at the other woman. "From what Clint has told me about the two of you, you're one of the best couples he's ever seen." Laura glanced down at her neck and Katherine instantly became aware that she was wearing her engagement ring around her neck. "And that ring right there tells me that you both think you're good together too." The hero could feel her face heating up from blushing. Laura smiled. "Talk to him when you guys get the chance. You might be surprised."

"I will." She said with a small smile, turning back to the vegetables.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm back! Sorry it took so long, there's been some family things going on and those have been taking up my attention since I've been trying to move my work schedule around. I want to thank you all for being patient and I promise that I will get back to posting at least once a week next weekend! I'm glad you guys like the story! Please don't forget to fave, follow, and review!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Katherine Howlett!**

 **XXX**

Katherine rung her hair out into a towel as she stepped out of the little bathroom that was attached to the bedroom that she and Steve would be using during their time at the ranch. She bumped into Steve and jumped slightly, looking up at him.

"Sorry." She muttered, walking around him, looking back down at the ground. Everything that she had thought to say to him had immediately fled her brain when she was actually standing face to face with him. He stood there for a moment before turning towards her. She put the towel on her head as she glanced through the folded clothes on the bed that she had borrowed from Natasha and Laura, trying to find something to wear. She slowed to a stop when a pair of hands landed on her hips. She felt Steve lay his forehead against the back of her head.

"I'm sorry." He muttered.

"What for?" Katherine said quietly, going back to looking through the clothes.

"What Wanda showed me… what Ultron said… it all hit me hard." Steve said, using the hands on her hips to gently turn her towards him. She set the clothes down before allowing herself to be turned. "I don't know what I would do if there was no war. No Avengers. Could I really live a normal life?" He asked her while she looked over his face. "You did it because you had years to adjust. I've only been out of the ice for three years. That entire I've been with the Avengers." She tilted her head, putting her hands on his cheeks and pulling him down to kiss her.

"No matter how bad things get. They will always get better." She said, looking into his blue eyes.

"How do you know?" He asked softly.

"I fought in WWI, WWII, and the Korean War among others. I've fought longer than you ever have." Steve watched her carefully. "And I'm a functioning member of society and you will be too." She leaned up to kiss him again before she turned back around to continue going through the clothes. "So… what did Wanda even show you?" That seemed to dampen the changing mood in the room… for the worst. She glanced back at the man.

"It's nothing." He said solemnly.

"Nothing? Do you not feel the change in the room? It's palatable!" She said, pretending to grab at the air. The man watched her for a moment, his lips twitching upward for a moment before sighed. "What did Wanda show you?" There was a moment of silence.

"I was home… back in the 40's. There was a party and people were talking, laughing, and dancing. Someone spoke to me and I turned around and it was… Peggy." Steve said, glancing up at Katherine. He noticed the tick in her jaw but she didn't say anything. She was waiting patiently for him to continue. "And I guess... I felt bad."

"Why would you feel bad about a vision you couldn't control?" Katherine asked, letting her jaw relax so she could speak to the man.

"Because it was Peggy and not you." He said quietly, hoping the woman wouldn't hear him. Apparently, there was no such luck. She tilted her head like a confused puppy, waiting for him to continue. "I love you. I'm marrying you..." He looked upset by the fact that he'd thought about Peggy.

"Stevie…" She said, stepping closer to him. He looked down at the ground. She gently tipped his head up and pressed a gentle kiss on his lips. "Peggy was your first love. You never forget your first love. There's nothing we can do about it. You've managed to move on, I hope. I mean, when was the last time, before this Wanda thing, that you actually thought about her." She asked, raising an eyebrow. Steve opened his mouth but paused, beginning to look a little confused. He slowly closed his mouth, looking down into Katherine's hazel eyes. "See?" She asked, placing a kiss on his lips again. When they pulled apart, he smiled slightly at her and she smiled back, feeling better about everything. She turned around and began to look through the clothes again. There was another moment of silence but the air felt better, lighter.

"So… You're really good with her… Clint's daughter." Katherine smiled slightly.

"Yeah, she's a good girl." Katherine pulled on a pair of jeans and a tank top before slipping Steve's hoodie.

"Have you ever thought about having kids?" Steve asked as an off-the-wall comment. She knew that he didn't know. She knew that he didn't mean it to be cruel. She paused, looking down at the ground before turning towards him.

"Have you?" She asked. She could see the flush crawling up his neck.

"A little…" He asked. She smiled slightly at the thought of Steve as a father. He would be amazing. Absolutely perfect. That smile faded when she remembered her Team X days. She licked her lips before turning back around to collect the clothes to put them away in the dresser. Steve noticed the change in the room this time. "What's wrong?" She glanced at him over her shoulder before shaking her head. She gathered the clothes in her arms and moved towards the dresser, putting them away. Steve stepped over to her and waited until she was done before he gently put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around, pulling her into his chest when she was facing him.

"See, it doesn't work like that. You don't make me spill out my thoughts and then get to hide yours." Steve said with a small chuckle, pressing a kiss to her temple. She sighed, wrapping her arms around him.

"I know." She said, taking a small step back. "You know when I joined Team X, I was the only woman on the team." She moved away from the man further, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I was one of, if not the most powerful one on the team. I mean, I can control the elements." She explained, feeling the man sit next to her. "Being a woman, Stryker thought that there was only one reason I would leave the team." She paused and she could feel Steve's gaze on her face. "With a team full of men, he was worried that there was even the slightest possibility that… I could become pregnant and decide to leave the team." If Steve was shocked, he was doing a good job to hide it. She began to play with the ring on her finger. "He gave me an ultimatum. I could leave Team X and never see my brothers again or I could be sterilized and be allowed to remain with the team." Glancing over at Steve, she could see his entire face paling.

"Sterilized?" He asked quietly. She nodded her head, picking at her nails.

"Yeah." She said. "So there was never a chance that I would leave the team. He knew I would pick Logan and Victor. He knew it all along." She rubbed her forehead and tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. "At the time, all I knew was fighting. The only family I had was Victor and Logan. I never thought that I would find someone who would love me and I would love. Someone who I wanted to have a family with." She licked her lips. "I said yes. Not even thinking twice." She looked over at Steve, her hazel eyes glassy with unshed tears. "Stryker really messed me up and I didn't even realize how badly until you walked into my life. I always knew about Victor and I had a feeling about Logan. I didn't even think of myself." She closed her eyes, listening as Steve moved from the bed to kneel down in front of her. He grabbed her wrists, gently pulling her from the bed into his lap. The moment she settled, she wrapped her arms around his neck, sniffling slightly before nuzzling into his neck. "I'm sorry." She apologized quietly. Since meeting Steve and getting to know him, falling in love with him, she wanted to be able to give him anything and everything he asked for…

"It's okay." He whispered, petting her head as he rocked her back and forth gently. He pulled away slightly, grabbing her left hand and twirling the ring around her finger gently. "You know that no matter what you say will change the way I see you, right? Nothing you say will ever make me love you any less. I know you did what you had to do to say with your family and I have complete respect for that." He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. "I love you. I always will. Anyway, you've given me a son already, remember?" Her brow furrowed in confusion and he offered her a smile. "John." He leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her cheek as her features turned from confused to surprise to loving. She wrapped her arms around his neck once again, pulling him closer to her. She let a small smile grace her features. After everything she'd been through, everything she'd done in her life, how had she gotten so lucky to have Steve?


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I'm SO SO sorry about how late this is guys! Things just spiraled out of control with life and my motivation took a dive. I'm hoping to start posting once a week again for all of my stories. Again, I'm sorry. I want to thank everyone who reads and posts comments, you guys really help motivate me to try and continue writing even when I don't want to because it usually gets me back into the writing mood, so thank you all!**

 **I hope you all like this chapter and please don't forget to fave, follow, and review! It would mean a lot!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Katherine Howlett!**

 **XXX**

After the emotional conversation between Steve and Katherine, the pair took a quick nap to recharge before heading back downstairs. As they hit the bottom step, Tony came back into the house from the front door, with a surprising guest behind him. Nick Fury. Katherine was surprised to see him but… with things going on with Ultron she wasn't exactly surprised that he would show up. Everyone else seemed at least a little surprised by his appearance but they all realized what she did.

Everyone ended up in the dining room and kitchen area while Katherine and Laura were with Lila, coloring in the living room. When the girl deemed the picture finished, she stood up and ran into the dining room to Natasha, showing her the picture. Katherine stood, offering her hand to the heavily pregnant woman. She smiled as she took the older woman's hand, allowing her to help her to her feet. "You look like you feel better. Everything work out okay?" Laura asked her as they walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, everything's fine." She rolled the ring around her finger, unintentionally drawing Laura's eyes to it. She smiled and put her hand on Katherine's shoulder.

"I'm glad." Katherine smiled at the other woman before coming to stand at the table, listening to Fury talk.

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing."

"What about Ultron himself?" Steve asked from where he was leaning against the doorway between the dining room and the living room.

"Oh, he's easy to track. He's everywhere." Fury answered. "The guy is multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit." Katherine almost spit her water everywhere. She covered her mouth as she tried to swallow it without choking. "It still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans, though."

"Is he still going after launch codes?" Tony asked from where he was throwing darts at Clint's dartboard.

"Yes, he is. But he's not making any headway." Fury answered, he was making a sandwich.

"I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare." Tony answered. Katherine turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" She asked and he nodded his head. She rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to Fury.

"Well, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that." Fury said, laying some kind of deli meat on the bread.

"Nexus?" Steve asked.

"It's the world Internet hub in Oslo. Every byte of data flows through there. Fastest access on Earth." Bruce answered.

"So, what did they say?" Clint said from where he was fixing one of the darts Tony wasn't using.

"He's fixated on the missiles." Fury answered Clint. Tony glanced at him as he pulled the darts from the board. "But the codes are constantly being changed."

"By whom?" Tony asked a second before Clint threw two darts right by his face, both hitting bull's-eye. Tony leaned back before turning to look at Clint. The man shrugged playfully while smiling at the billionaire.

"Parties unknown." Fury answered.

"Do we have an ally?" Natasha asked.

"Ultron's got an enemy. That's not the same thing." Fury said to her. "Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is."

"I might need to visit Oslo." Tony said, leaning against the doorway. "Find our unknown."

"Well," Natasha said, loud enough to get everyone's attention. "This is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that." She said, tilting her head back to look at Fury.

"I do. I have you." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere. Ears, everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up." Katherine sat down at the table in front of Natasha, watching Fury walk around the island and come over to them. "Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world." The heroes remained silent. "Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this, laid in a grave. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard." Fury said as he sat down at the head of the table. Katherine turned towards Fury in her chair, turning her head to look at Steve.

"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk." She said with a smirk.

"You know what, Howlett?" He said back to her and her smirk became a full smile. She held out her hand to him and he stepped over to her, standing behind her and letting her take his hand. She held it tightly before pressing a kiss to the back of it. She could feel him press a kiss to the back of her head.

"So, what does he want?" Fury asked, ignoring the couple.

"To become better." Steve said from above Katherine. "Better than us. He keeps building bodies."

"Person bodies." Tony said. "The human form is inefficient. Biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it."

"When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed." Natasha said, looking between Bruce and Tony.

"They don't need to be protected." Bruce said from where he was standing beside the redhead. "They need to evolve." Everyone turned to him. "Ultron's going to evolve."

"How?" Fury asked.

"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?" Bruce asked. Everyone was silent before they got up and went to their rooms to put their suits on, their mission clear.

 **XXX**

"Zip me up." Katherine said, pulling her hair aside so that Steve could get to the zipper of her suit.

"There you go." He said, pressing a kiss to the side of her neck as he finished buckling the front of his suit.

"Thanks." She said, pulling on her gloves and looking at the color-changing gems.

"We got this." Steve said when he noticed her being really quiet.

"I know. I'm just worried." She said, turning to him and sitting down on the bed. He finished the last buckle and came over to her. He noticed that the ring wasn't on the chain but rather, on her finger still. She noticed him looking and spun it on her finger. "I don't want to have it on the chain… in case something happens." He gave her a small smile before leaning down, cupping her cheek, and kissing her. She grabbed his wrist, kissing him back before he pulled away.

"Come on. Let's go." He said, helping her off the bed before leading her down the stairs, his hand never letting go of hers.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I'm sorry guys. I've been meaning to get this chapter out but things kinda just keep falling sideways with family emergencies and work. I'm really, truly going to try and update at least once a week. This story is completely written so it's really just a matter of editing it and posting it. Again guys, I'm really sorry and thank you for sticking with this story even though it seems kinda hopeless, lol. :D**

 **Please don't forget to fave, follow, and review! It would mean so much to me and help keep my motivation up to continue on!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Katherine Howlett!**

 **XXX**

Steve grabbed his shield that was sitting on a chair and attaching it to his back. "I'll take Natasha, Clint, and Katherine." Steve said to Tony as he walked in.

"Alright. Strictly recon. I'll hit the Nexus." Tony said. "I'll join you as soon as I can." They walked towards the main door side-by-side.

"If Ultron's really building a body…" Steve began.

"He'll be more powerful than any of us." Tony said, stopping to turn to the other man. "Maybe all of us. An android designed by a robot." Steve looked at Katherine as she walked towards them, rocking back on his heels.

"You know, I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was me." The Super Soldier said.

"I'll drop Banner off at the tower." Fury said as he pulled his coat on. "Mind if I borrow Ms. Hill?" He asked Tony.

"She's all yours. Apparently." Tony said to him. "What are you going to do?" Fury took a step before turning back to Tony.

"I don't know. Something dramatic, I hope." Fury said before walking away. Steve and Tony looked at each other before looking at Katherine.

"At least he's honest." She said, shrugging her shoulders.

 **XXX**

Dr. Cho's lab was destroyed and the woman was lying slumped against the wall. "Dr. Cho!" Steve called her name as he ran over to her. She sat up fully, breathing heavily. Steve knelt down next to her, grabbing a rag to apply pressure to the wound on her chest.

"He's uploading himself into the body." She said, looking at Steve and Katherine.

"Where?" Katherine asked, kneeling down on the other side of the woman. A small shake of the head told Katherine that Dr. Cho didn't know. She stood up and Steve moved to follow her but Dr. Cho held his arm as strongly as she could to get his attention. He turned back to the woman. "The real power is inside the Cradle. The gem, its power is uncontainable. You can't just blow it up. You have to get the Cradle to Stark."

"First I have to find it." Steve said to the woman.

"Go." She said, releasing his arm.

"Did you guys copy that?" Katherine said as she jogged out of the lab, her finger on her comm with Steve right behind her.

" _We did._ " Clint answered.

" _I got a private jet taking off across town._ " Natasha said. _"No manifest. That could be him."_

" _There._ " Clint said, seeing something Steve and Katherine couldn't. _"It's a truck from the lab. Right above you Cap. On the loop by the bridge. You got three with the Cradle, one in the cab. I could take out the driver."_

"Negative." Steve answered while he was climbing some stairs to get onto the road, Katherine switching places with him so that she was behind him. "That truck crashes; the gem could level the city. We need to draw out Ultron."

"This should be fun." Katherine said to herself as she watched the truck coming. "Are we seriously going to do this?" She asked Steve and the man looked at her before running across the small highway to jump and land on the truck. "Apparently." Katherine said to herself as she jumped as well, landing solidly on her feet, manipulating the wind to help her stay upright. Steve rolled by Katherine, grabbing the back of the truck to hang by the doors. The woman yelped in surprise when the doors were blown open by Ultron. Steve managed to hang on as he was slammed into the body of the trailer. He was able to push off and get the door closed again before Ultron blasted both doors completely off. She watched as Steve flew into the air before falling. She looked over the edge to see Steve had landed on one of the doors that was barely hanging.

"Well, he's definitely unhappy. I'm gonna try and keep him that way." Steve said.

" _You're not a match for him, Cap."_ Clint said through the earpiece and Katherine, even with the situation they were in, couldn't help but laugh.

"Thanks, Barton." Steve said quietly. He stood up, only to be blasted back into a car that was driving behind the truck. Katherine knelt down at the edge and looked down at Ultron standing in the doorway. She powered up before throwing a fireball at his head. Of course, the damage was minimal. He turned to her and she rolled backwards quickly as he shot an energy blast at her. She rolled onto her feet and jumped slightly when Steve landed beside her.

"Impressive." She said with a small smile before Ultron floated up out of the back of the truck.

"You know what's in that Cradle?" He asked. Steve grabbed Katherine and turned his back to Ultron quickly, his shield protecting them from another energy blast. "The power to make real change and that terrifies you." Steve released Katherine as they turned back to Ultron.

"I wouldn't call it a comfort." Steve said as he grabbed his shield and threw it. It knocked Ultron off the back of the truck before he floated to stay up, making the energy blast he was aiming at them miss. He came back at them; Steve blocked the energy a few times while Katherine blasted him with electricity and fire. The next time Steve threw the shield, it had gotten lodged in Ultron's chest.

"Stop it." The robot said before knocking his shield away. It dropped right off the truck into the road. Steve was hit with an energy blast that knocked him down to the cab of the truck. Katherine made a wind shield, hitting Ultron with it and knocking him back a few feet. In that moment, Katherine reached down and grabbed Steve's wrist, helping him get back onto the top of the truck. With a blast of wind under his feet, she helped him jump to Ultron's height. He wrapped his arms around his neck, holding on tightly as Ultron shook from side to side, reaching back to try and get him off. The robot was able to get a hand under Steve's arm and slip out from under it. When Steve's feet hit the top of the truck, Ultron grabbed him by the neck. Katherine glanced down when she saw Natasha on her motorcycle. She threw a fireball at Ultron, hitting him in the head. "You really think that's going to hurt me?" He asked, turning to the woman.

"Nope." She said, smirking. "Just a distraction."

"What?" Ultron asked as he turned his attention back to Steve. Natasha threw the shield, which Steve caught on his arm (thanks to the new magnetics Tony made) and hit Ultron in the head, knocking him down to the truck. He used the same magnetic powers he did to Tony on the ship to lift a piece of the concrete up, keeping Natasha from following beside them. He stood up and turned to the two heroes. Katherine hit him with a bolt of lightning before he recovered and blasted them with an energy beam. Steve was knocked onto another car's windshield while Katherine hit the ground hard. She felt her right shoulder pop before and extreme burning pain flared up in the area all the way down her torso. She gasped before sitting up. She heard the sound of metal crunching as Ultron tried to crush Steve with the car he'd landed on but the Captain managed to get away back onto the truck. Katherine reached up with her left hand and touched her comm.

"Nat, I'm gonna need a ride." She said, looking at the support pillar next to her.

' _On my way.'_ She said. The brunette walked over and leaned her dislocated shoulder against the pillar. With a deep breath, she slammed her shoulder into it. The pain flared up worse but her shoulder had popped back into place. Soon enough, the pain should stop. She shook out her arm as Natasha slid to a stop in front of her.

"Need a ride?" The redhead asked with a smirk.

"Yep." She said as she got onto the back of the bike, holding onto her waist as she took off. "Clint," She said to the archer in the Quinjet. "Can you draw out the guards?"

" _Let's find out._ " He said. The women watched as Clint had finally got a clear shot and opened fired on Ultron with the Gatling gun. A moment later, the two guards left the truck to go after the jet. Steve threw Ultron through a support pillar before the robot came back at grabbed the Captain, knocking them both into a train that was passing by the truck.

"I guess I'm hitting the train then." Katherine said to the redhead.

"I guess you are." Natasha said with a small smile.

" _They're heading back towards you. So whatever you're gonna do, do it now._ " Clint said through the comm.

"I'm going in. Cap, Kat, can you keep him occupied?" Natasha asked Steve through the comm before looking back at the brunette behind her. Katherine rolled her eyes, _MN_ was what they called her on missions with Mother Nature would take too much time to say. Clint did it as a joke and it had stuck…

" _What do you think I've been doing?_ " Steve asked, panting.

"I'm on my way." She said, putting her hands on Natasha's shoulders to keep her balance while she put her feet up on the seat where she was sitting. With a blast of air, she managed to jump all the way from the bike to the back of the train. She looked back at Natasha when she landed. "Not bad for a first attempt at that." She said before easily finding the hole that Cap and Ultron made and jumping inside.


End file.
